


Beyond Titans

by Yemi Hikari (Yemi_Hikari)



Series: Beyond Titans [2]
Category: Teen Titans (Animated Series), Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Action, Contest Entry, Friendship, Gen, Kidnapping, Mystery, One-Sided Kon-El | Conner Kent/M'gann M'orzz, Only One Who Remembers, Open Novella Contest, Open Novella Contest 2020, Pansexual Koriand'r, Past Dick Grayson/Koriand'r, Past John Grayson II/Zatanna Zatara, Secret Identity
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-04
Updated: 2020-05-04
Packaged: 2021-03-05 01:09:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 21
Words: 21,913
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25265872
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yemi_Hikari/pseuds/Yemi%20Hikari
Summary: One day a stranger warns Grayson that Slade is after him again. The problem is, Grayson doesn't know of any previous interactions with Slade. She also acts as if she knows him, yet if she did she wouldn't be a stranger.
Relationships: Dick Grayson & Raven, Dick Grayson & Wally West
Series: Beyond Titans [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1825297
Kudos: 6
Collections: (General) Open Novella 2020, (World) Beyond the Night (DC Comics/Batman), Platonic Relationships





	1. Warning

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer - I don't own Teen Titans or Young Justice. This is an AU spinoff for my Beyond the Night series. This was written for ONC 2020 and the prompt used was number eighteen, "you wake up one day to find you are the onyl one who remembers your ult group." This one made it through the second round. Note - Beyond the Night has the Teen Titans existing before the team, but this particular story goes AU in that Miss Martian is a part of the team like she is in Young Justice. Another way the story differs from the regular BtN storyline is that I am exploring the idea of Starfire sexuality.

"You're in danger."

Finding a stranger standing outside of Wayne manor was definitely an unexpected addition to Dick Grayson's daily routine. The thirteen-year-old ward of Bruce Wayne found himself standing there in his school uniform looking at the girl dressed in dark clothing – clothing reminiscent to something a superhero or supervillain might wear while Alfred brought the limo around front. His mouth twisted slightly, pondering the strangeness.

After all, he didn't _know_ the girl in front of him, yet she definitely acted in a familiar manner towards him. As Robin, he was also used to others dressing in the manner the stranger in front of him dressed, yet right now he wasn't Robin. More importantly few actually knew the secret identity of either Batman or Robin, yet if the girl were a member of the super community – there was no escaping she _knew_ his identity.

Batman wouldn't like that.

Of course, Bruce Wayne wouldn't like _that_ either.

There was no getting around the fact Batman was paranoid regarding their secret identities; Bruce Wayne, on the other hand, was paranoid about the safety of his ward. Accumulated in front of him right now was the worst fear of both personas. Dick flicked his phone shut, putting aside the idea of messaging his best friend. "Do I know you?"

The girl standing in front of him – her appearance was definitely a Goth twist on what supers tended to wear, but the leotard and hooded cape stood out like a sore thumb. There was no way he'd forget such an ensemble. He attempted reading her face for some kind of expression which would hint at what she was thinking, yet there was only an ever-slight twinge of the corner of her mouth most wouldn't ever notice, not to mention didn't indicate anything.

" _You don't remember._ "

The mental accusation was definitely unexpected on his part, yet made quite clear the female in front of him wasn't someone he should trifle with. He swallowed, feeling exposed – if not outright violated by the action, but without realizing his own actions lifted a hand to the side of his head.

"I'm sorry."

"Master Grayson."

"Slade is after you again." The girl spoke quickly, right before shadows crept up around her, allowing her to disappear in bright daylight.

Dick's eyes opened and closed. He straightened himself up ever so slightly yet pushed aside in the back of his mind the fact yet another person within the last month or so intruded upon his mind. The feeling – it was definitely different from Megan's intrusion, yet neither felt right. He took a deep breath, his eyes focusing on Alfred. "You're going to have to tell him, aren't you?"

"Do you know what she meant by that message?"

Dick sucked air into his lungs, knowing Alfred wouldn't answer his question; telling Bruce – aka Batman – was a given. "No. Batman and the rest of the league have had run-ins with Slade, but I haven't. It's one of those things he doesn't want me involved in."

Yet, now one of those things did, in fact, involve him.


	2. Turbed

"You're here early."

Robin let out a sigh in response to Superboy's queries. The young vigilante flopped onto the couch at Mount Justice upside down, folding his thin arms across his stomach while looking at the static the clone of Superman enjoyed in an attempt to block out his auditory senses somewhat. "Yeah, well, something happened. Totally turbed about it as well."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Robin squinted his eyes slightly behind the sunglasses which hid his robin blue eyes from the rest of the Team comprised of the young protégée of the Justice League members.

Megan floated in the air, smiling at him; her cheerful attempts at helping were honestly the last thing he wanted right now, particularly after having yet another person intrude into his mind. "Yeah. No. Secret identities you know."

"Oh." The smile on her face fell, the disappointment all too obvious. Robin's mouth twisted into a deeper frown briefly, remembering Megan wasn't from Earth, nor could she begin to imagine the importance of his secret identity when she could easily become anyone she really wanted. Another sigh escaped his lips which resulted in the smile returning to her face. "I could make cookies?"

"I'm sure KF would appreciate that." Briefly, a smile spread across the face of the youngest member of the team; it fell away when his green friend took off towards the kitchen. Another sigh escaped. "I'm bored." He didn't look forward to waiting for KF to get out of class while he himself was stuck missing out on school. One corner of Robin's mouth twitched slightly, mentally noting the fact others would love getting the day off from school.

Soon, the smell of cookies wafted into the lounge area of the mountain hideout from the open kitchen. His eyes closed, taking a deep breath wishing Bruce hadn't made the decision for him to miss school on an account of a security breach that Wayne enterprises needed to take care of. In truth, the security measure was something Bruce would end up taking care of as Batman. No matter how much Alfred – otherwise known as Agent A around the mountain – apologized, the whole situation was agonizing.

A computerized voice went off announcing the speedy entrance of another team member. "B04 – Kid Flash."

"Wow. You're here early."

"I already said that." Superboy hadn't moved from where he sat on the couch, but Aqualad, their team member hadn't come back from one of his swims. In some ways, Robin felt glad their leader wasn't around asking questions regarding the matter.

"So, what's up."

"Miss Martian's preparing cookies."

"Awesome." Kid Flash hurried off to the kitchen in a blur, coming back just as quickly with a mouth stuffed full of cookies. He spoke through a flurry of crumbs. "So, why 'ya here early Rob?"

"It was either hang out here or hang out in the Batcave today. The Batcave started getting boring."

"Why..." Kid Flash's mouth twisted slightly, his blue eyes glancing away, catching the hint Robin wanted, no – needed to talk to him about something. He sped away allowing Robin to acrobatically flip off the couch and head out of the mountain to a nearby location where they might hang out and talk without Superboy unintentionally hearing anything. They could both see the beach from where they stood in their civvies. "So?"

"Have you or Flash ever come across a super with a partner who dresses in a dark leotard and wears a dark cloak?"

"I... no. Have you?"

"That's where things get fuzzy."

"Rob..."

"She showed up at the front door of Wayne Manor while I was on my way to school with Alfred warning me I was in danger, but she also intruded into my mind for a bit." Robin kept his hands jammed into the pockets of his jeans, his teeth grinding together as he tried keeping his frustration at bay.

"Wait? Like Miss Martian?"

"It was different." Robin swallowed, his stomach churning as he attempted placing why the two intrusions into his mind felt different.

"Come on Rob."

Robin took a deep breath, turning his head so he might look at his best friend. "You're not quite getting the gravity of the situation, are you?"

"You got the day off from school."

"She knows who I am Wally. She knows Dick Grayson is Robin, but in turn, knows Bruce Wayne is Batman. Yet I can't for the life of me place why she thought I should remember her, let alone why she felt we were familiar enough with each other too..." Robin let out a sigh. "Aqualad doesn't know anything's amiss, yet I suspect SB or MM will tell him I came early today, which in turn means the team's going to be on edge."

"Stop it."

Robin's eyes blinked, his head turning to look at his best friend. "Stop what?"

"Stop acting, I don't know. You're usually laughing and cracking a ton of puns at us, but you're always smiling. But now, you're acting all doom and gloom. It's not even the anniversary of.. .well, you know what."

"My parent's death?"

"Yeah."

Robin swallowed. "You know, your one of the few people I've ever talked about that with."

"And."

"She's a stranger, yet I think – I think she knows."

Wally touched Robin's shoulder. "Don't. It's Batman's job to be paranoid, not yours."


	3. Beastly

A light drizzle fell from Gotham's sky onto her pale skin. A pair of dark eyes looked up at the sky contemplating the lack of success in warning her former teammate regarding the fact Slade was after him. "Not surprising."

Raven's pale hands reached up for the edges of the hood of her cloak, tugging the covering further forward so she might better hide her face. She found the cathedral-like features incorporated into Gotham's architecture a welcoming escape, yet there was only so long she could continue keeping the company of the gargoyles residing on the rooftop of the skyscraper she selected for refuge. The demonic traits inherited from her father didn't make her immune to the rain negatively affecting her.

Silently, she slipped from the roof to the alleyway next to the giant building, contemplating her next move. "I should find the rest of the team, even if they don't remember me either."

No, she was the only Titan who remembered anything after the events which transpired when her father attempted taking over Earth for his own purposes, using her as the catalyst. Of course, Trigon hadn't expected her friends to fight for her, to bring her out of the brink of despair, let alone the power she was able to wield, sending him back where he came from. She still remembered Robin calling out to her, fighting so hard to reach her in the abyss.

After all, he was their leader.

Unfortunately, winning came at a cost. Nobody remembered, including the Justice League. The Justice League were rather shocked Robin went behind Batman to form the team, yet in reality, Batman was quite aware of the fact Robin started his own team, realizing the misfits needed someplace to go. Without the team...

Each of the Titans were sent away, given a mentor, someone meant to keep them out of trouble. She'd not seen any of them since then, not until her vision of Slade going after Robin again occurred. Raven sucked in her breath, not wishing the fate Slade intended for Robin to transpire. "If only luck were on my side."

From where she leaned against the wall of the filthy alleyway, she heard the sound of a rat scuttling around the trash, likely looking for food. This wasn't unusual, yet she still tilted her head down from continuing to feel the rain on her skin from down below after she slipped through the shadows to the ground. Her eyes opened, looking right at the rat as if something drew her to said rat.

The rat was green.

"Beast Boy." Her hands touched the wall, hoping he heard her and didn't run away. The green rat definitely did stop and look at her, yet said nothing. The corner of her mouth twisted up slightly. "I know it's you." Still no response. "I know that you're a human boy whose green, but has the ability to change into various animals."

The green rat's eyes blinked, then started morphing, becoming bigger a boy with green skin appeared. He crossed his arms, the corner of his mouth twisting slightly in annoyance while one of his eyes widened. He was also soaked from the rain like she was. "Who are you? I'm quite sure I don't know you."

"It's a very long, and complicated story." She folded her arms, her eyes narrowing. "Why aren't you with... who exactly was your mentor?"

The boy's mouth twisted into a frown, the confusion evident. "Look, you're rather cute and all..."

"Don't push it." She definitely didn't want to deal with Beast Boy making an attempt to flirt with her, let alone listen to – well, she did consider him a pervert for a reason.

"Yeah. I _really_ don't know you, ya know. "

Raven let out a groan at Beast Boy's attempt at deflecting. "Where is your legal guardian?"

"You _think_ I have a legal guardian, green as I am."

"Oh, so the Justice League didn't assign you a mentor, a legal guardian." She watched him glance away. Something regarding what she said hit the spot. "What?"

"I don't know how you knew that, but for your info, I've run away. I can take care of myself, nor do I need some adult telling me what I should and shouldn't do."

"Well, it's good to see you're the same old idiot as before."

"Hey!"

"Well, what do you call taking off a mentor who has similar powers as you do?"

"He's not even a big shot! He's not a member of the league, never talks..." Beast Boy's arms flailed about, complaining about whoever his mentor was. Something made him stop. "Hold on? Where's your mentor?" She simply looked at him, giving him the look. He didn't take a hint and pointed a finger at her. "You! You took off on your mentor!" The next thing either knew, Beast Boy was hanging upside down by one of her shadow tendrils while she crossed her arms. "Hey!"

"I'm not like you."

"Sure."

"I'm on a very important mission to help a friend. Care to help?"


	4. Incidence

He wished his mood would lighten up, that he would become less turbed regarding his current situation. The fact he found himself bored out of his mind while some kind of mystery was out there for him to solve didn't help – instead, he found himself flopped on the couch yet again upside-down watching the static on the television along with Superboy. Every so often, Superman's clone looked up, lifting an eyebrow up as if something were bothering him, yet he didn't say anything.

Every so often, Kid Flash dashed into view, eyeing him with obvious worry due to their earlier conversation. Miss Martian followed after, her curiosity obviously perked. Eventually, a sigh left his mouth as his hands touched the floor in front of the couch. The sound of Kaldur's voice made Robin flip up with agility, swinging his legs around so that he now sat on the couch with his legs crossed, but what Kaldur said perked his attention.

"We're getting a new member added to the team."

"Really?" One of Robin's eyebrows shot up, his mouth breaking into a smile. He needed the distraction from his boredom, let alone the mystery of the girl who showed up, along with the warning.

Kid Flash hurried over in a blur, dressed in his civvies and not at all worried about keeping his secret identity a secret, something Robin always felt a little jealous over. Still, they both wanted to know who would be joining them. "Is it another girl?"

Suddenly a peal of laughter erupted from Robin. "Dude. Seriously?"

"Hey! A guy can wish." Kid Flash crossed his arms, his mouth twisting slightly as he glared at his best friend, also the youngest person on the team.

Superboy remained still the entire time, his eye on Robin before saying, "well, at least you're acting like your normal self."

"Robin wasn't acting like his normal self?" One of Aqualad's eyebrow's shot up.

"You guys don't have to act so turbed by this, you know." Robin continued smiling, his grin quite wide. "Who's their mentor?"

"Yeah. We've not heard of any of the Justice League members getting a new protégée."

"It's Red Tornado."

In the back of Robin's mind, this didn't seem right. If Red Tornado had someone he was mentoring – the fact he wasn't a member of the team yet was a bit odd. The fact the new protégée was showing up on the same day couldn't be a coincidence.

"Also, Martian Manhunter will be joining us today."

Robin let out a sigh. "Incidence."

"What?" Miss Martian turned her head towards Robin. "Incidence?"

"Just another one of Rob's unwords, kay?" Kid Flash waved his hand, yet glanced over at Robin who's smile faltered, his head turning away while his mouth formed a pout. Said pout lasted only a few seconds before he plastered a smile on hiding what he really felt.

"Kind of bummed you didn't getthat, Megan."

"Yeah, but..." The young Martian shrugged her shoulders. "Well, Uncle John is coming today, so I'm excited, but getting a new member."

"He'll be arriving soon with your new team member."

As if on cue, the computer piped up with the designations of those coming through the Zeta Tube transportation device. "07 – Martian Manhunter, B07 – Cyborg."

"Woah." Kid Flash's eyes widened, while Robin's narrowed, a feeling of unease hitting him in the pit of his stomach. "Okay. I know another girl would have been awesome, but a cyborg is just awesome in all capitals!"

"That must mean it's a good thing, right?" Superboy continued sitting in his spot.

"Well, we should go and greet them." Miss Martian flew off while the others followed closely behind. Standing in front of the Zeta Tube entrance was Martian Manhunter, but next to him was a young cyborg. Said cyborg's skin was dark, but his frame quite muscular. Robin couldn't shake the feeling he knew the person in front of him. 

Rather enthusiastically the young cyborg stuck out his hand for the other members of the team to shake, yet spoke with a jovial tone. "Hi. My name is Cyborg. It's nice to meet you."

  
  



	5. Irony

"Hey. There's an orange-colored girl on the television."

The comment from Beast Boy honestly surprised her, particularly since she was wondering how she would find the other members of the team so she might prevent the danger posed to Robin. Each of the Titans other than Robin were placed with a mentor the Justice League choose, yet she didn't know where any of these mentors' base of operations were located. As such, she couldn't simply show up at any of these locations like she could Wayne manor.

Fate somehow brought her to Beast Boy, even though she definitely found him an annoyance.

She didn't suspect, she, of all people, would have further luck regarding fate, yet there were the words saying Beast Boy spotted Starfire. Raven let out a sigh, thinking Beast Boy simply saw a cartoon character on the television screen which he found himself glued to as the rain continued drizzling down, blocking out the sunlight – though Gotham wasn't known for having much sunshine even on days without rain.

At least, that's what Robin told her once. Gotham was a dusky place, with a mist typically coming in from the nearby ports in some areas and others dealing with the pollution output of industries other than Wayne enterprises. The parks and other green places were definite exceptions to the rule. Such things were a bit odd to think about, given the fact she had other things to worry about, yet she'd spent a few hours attempting to figure out her next step.

Quite a few school bells rang, indicating school let out which resulted in a groan from Beast Boy. "So glad I don't have to go."

"Well, some of us would like to."

"Don't. I already got an earful about how studies are important. Study this, study that. And he can't even actually talk! He just contorts into different shapes when he's not writing stuff down."

"Let's focus."

"You've still not given me any real information about this mission."

"I told you that this mission is to help a friend."

"Yeah, but..."

"To do so we need to find a couple more friends."

"And where do we start looking?"

"I don't know yet."

Which of course led to Beast Boy lettering her no in no uncertain terms that he was bored, but insisting they find something to do for the time being which in turn resulted in her reminding him he couldn't exactly blend in easily, so if they did do something they would need to keep a downlow. Somehow this led to them doing something the humans called window shopping, something Starfire, in fact, would have loved doing if she was allowed such freedom, yet she'd never seen the point.

Which made the current situation ironic.

There she was doing the window shopping thing – with Beast Boy obviously focused on tech – when she happened to see on the television screen one Starfire, flashing possibly a little too much of her skin due to wearing a bathing suit while a couple of other females Raven didn't recognize waved at the camera. What she saw, she didn't quite understand, given the fact they'd always laid low, yet perhaps that wasn't one of Starfire's strong points.

"Apparently, she's some kind of alien visiting the Amazon women, but they got bored and decided to go and hang out on the beach in a place called Happy Harbor. Looks fun, but why can't we be open with who we are?"

Raven let out a sigh. "You've got to be kidding me."


	6. Wonder Girl

"02 – Batman."

Robin let out a groan, sliding down where he sat on the couch. "Oh great. What now."

Despite the inkling he knew Cyborg, he'd honestly felt the introduction to their new team member went well. Kid Flash, of course, proceeded in bonding with their new friend which in turn led to the two taking over the television from Superboy so they might play a video game. Robin found himself quite amused at the look of irritation on Superboy's face, his static having been taken away, yet the noise of the game would still provide white noise for other sounds.

In some ways. Robin felt the clone simply wanted his own private space, which was a bit odd given the fact he'd chosen a closet as his bedroom.

Robin let out a sigh. "I'd better go and see what my mentor wants."

Superboy glanced up. "How do you know he doesn't want the whole team?"

"He'll summon us if he does."

Robin shuffled his feet as he walked, yet stopped when he saw Miss Martian watching him carefully. The last thing he wanted was yet another unwanted intrusion into his mind; one of his trademarks smiles quickly set her to ease. Batman wasn't smiling when he arrived at the Zeta transportation device, but then Batman wasn't known for smiling. Aqualad stood there with Red Tornado and Martian Manhunter, his arms crossed, which in turn made Robin shuffle from one foot to another.

"Hi, Bats. What's up?"

"Can I talk to you for a moment?" He felt his throat catch, yet followed Batman away from the other three, noting the way Batman turned towards Aqualad. "Assemble the rest of the team."

Robin tapped his foot, his eyes narrowing while he crossed his arms across his chest. "Let me guess. You don't want me to go on the mission, right?"

"Correct."

"Look, I know why you don't want me to go on tonight's mission, but I can take care of myself, but part of being a team is that they'll watch your back, right? Plus, you also know what I'll do if you try forbidding me from being Robin."

"I know. It's not an order, but a request."

"You..." Robin's eyes narrowed. "I'd have thought you have put up more of a fight on this."

"Unfortunately, the team will need everyone on this one. Do be careful. Agent A will be upset if something happens to you."

"Yeah." Robin swallowed, wishing Batman instead said he'd be upset if something happened to him. He followed Batman back to the Zeta Tub just as it activated again.

"B08 – Wonder Girl."

"Woah." Kid Flash's eyes widened. "Did you hear that?" He spoke rather fast, with the others staring at him, only a few able to follow his speedy vocabulary as Robin could. "Wonder Woman's actually got her own sidekick? I wonder if she's hot? I mean, she's an Amazon, so she's got to be."

A giggle left Robin, his mind imagining the trouble Kid Flash might get into with an Amazon around. One hand covered his mouth in his attempt to hold it back, yet Kid Flash still glared at him for his reaction. Miss Martian, on the other hand, seemed quite excited, her eyes wide, and her mouth hung open slightly at hearing the designation just as Wonder Girl stepped through.

She was a teenage girl who looked like a younger version of her mentor, but unlike her mentor's attire which showed quite a lot of skin, Wonder Girl wore a red, sleeveless bodysuit adorned with white stars. When she stopped walking into Mount Justice, she crossed her arms, carefully examining the team. Miss Martian's mouth twisted in a smile. "It's nice to have another girl on the team."

"I am joining the team temporarily to see out my wayward sisters and return them to Themysciera before they cause trouble."

Robin's eyes narrowed. "So not feeling the aster right now." Neither was Miss Martian, who glanced away, her disappointment rather obvious. He raised his hand, "So, exactly how concerted should we be regarding this issue?"

"The reason I am here is because this will not be an easy task for the team as it is."

"Seriously, I think I can..."

A quick elbow in the ribs made Superboy stop speaking, allowing Robin to whisper, knowing full well the clone could easily hear him. "Wonder Woman can go to toe to toe with Superman, but we're obviously dealing with more than one of them."

"Oh..." A blush spread across Superboy's face while Miss Martian's eyes widen before she turned to glare at Wonder Girl, seeing her as a rival for Superboy's affection. Of course, Robin wasn't sure if Superboy had developed a crush on Wonder Girl, or if he was simply embarrassed because of his blunder.

"As usual, the mentors will _not_ step in unless we have to, but rumor has it all three girls are actually in Happy Harbor."

"Three Amazon?" Kid Flash swallowed. "As Robin might say, totally not feeling the aster right now."

"What is with this aster?"

"Robin likes playing around with the English language." Miss Martian smiled at Wonder Girl, her tone of voice daring the other girl to disagree with her next statement. "I think it's absolutely adorable."

Robin facepalmed, not liking how her tone of voice made it sound like she was describing a cute, fluffy kitten. Wonder Girl glanced at him, her arms still crossing her chest. "I don't think it's adorable." This resulted in Miss Martian returning to glaring at Wonder Girl. "I think it's actually pretty cool."

Her reaction resulted in a thumbs up from Robin. "Even though you're not going to be spending much time with the team, you're definitely going to be one of the guys."

Kid Flash's eyes widened in fright, almost as if wondering why Robin would say such a thing to an Amazon of all people while. Miss Martian, on the other hand, glanced away, her facial features faltering.

"You're one of the guys as well." Cyborg piped up.

Robin pulled in his bottom lip, holding in a laugh at the way Cyborg fumbled with reading the situation.

"Since that's settled, you need to know it's actually only two Amazon"

"Okay. That's good." A look of relief appeared on Kid Flash's face.

"The third is an orange alien with superhuman strength who's able to throw around what are called star bolts, best described as a form of energy attack. While it was the other two who convinced her to take a vacation from Themysciera, it should be noted she does have a temper, nor should she be underestimated."

Kid Flash let out a sigh upon hearing Wonder Girl speak. "I spoke too soon."

"We've definitely got our work cut out for us," Aqualad said, "but I believe our team can pull this off."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One of the things which bothered me regarding season three of Young Justice is that Donna never had the Wonder Girl title. Also, for those who know the series, I didn't plan on Megan/Miss Martian having issues with Wonder Girl, yet it also makes sense she would see Wonder Girl as a rival, at least at first, particularly when there are reasons for them to not quite hit it off right away.


	7. Killing Boredom

_"Boring..._ "

She came with her girlfriend Phaedra and their friend Nefeli because she found Themyscira boring.

 _"Boring..._ "

Boring of course included her mentor, Wonder Woman, and the other girl Wonder Woman was mentoring – she found both sticks in the mud and no fun, although she wasn't sure where she'd learned that particular English phrase.

 _"Boring..._ "

In fact, she definitely knew she'd not learned English on Themyscira when she'd kissed Phaedra so she might assimilate the Greek language.

There was no getting around the fact her memories were hazy. She definitely remembered a man dressed in black wearing a mask which looked bat-like telling her that Wonder Woman would, in fact, be her new mentor, yet she didn't remember how she'd come to Earth. There was a definite gap in her memories, a period of time between when she left Tamaran and when she first met Wonder Woman.

After all, she definitely knew the English language when she met the woman, yet she didn't remember kissing anyone on Earth prior to that kiss in Themyscira with Phaedra, not to mention she struggled with the fact she'd forgotten the person she'd gleaned so many Earth languages from, along with an odd way of using the English language which made Wonder Woman give her strange looks every time.

The fact she kissed Phaedra – one of the orphans taken from the sea to be trained as the next generation of Amazon was treated as normal, at least as normal as kissing a complete stranger could be treated. Romantic and sexual relationships with the same sex on the island were the only option, given the entirely female population, yet she found herself with quite a bit of freedom outside of her daily lessons.

 _"Boring..._ "

She, of course, hated school, learning a language which she already had a firm grasp on, although the teacher was not pleased with her picking up the quirks of whoever she assimilated the language from. She also found no point in learning the history lessons, yet found herself ditching classes with Phaedra and Nefeli quite a bit, much to the chagrin of one Donna Troy.

" _Boring..._ "

Donna Troy didn't seem to know how to have fun, let alone be okay with sometimes breaking the rules, such as skipping class. She was the one who let the full-fledged Amazon women know some of the things they got up to, yet she'd thought their plan of discovering a way to the mainland so they could explore would end up going wrong, yet nothing of the sort did. In fact, they found themselves on the mainland, in a small oceanside town called Happy Harbor.

They, of course, drew attention, what with Kori's exotic looks and the way her companions Nefeli and Phaedra dressed.

Eyes followed them as they headed towards a store so Kori might purchase herself a swimsuit for the beach utilizing money of hers, she honestly didn't remember how she'd come across in the first place. She kept trying on different swimsuits, turning towards her girlfriend and Nfeli. "Are you sure you don't want one as well? I do have money..."

"Nah. I'm not interested in guys ogling me." Phaedra leaned back. "I'd rather have an ice crème at the beach. I remember my mother buying me that."

"You're lucky to have some good memories before you ended up on the island." Nefeli let out a sigh. "I just have nightmares."

"So, you girls are missing memories from before you arrived at Themyscira as well?"

"We've gone over this Koriand'r. It's not the same. We were very young when we came to the island, while you came in later on, but have very clear memories regarding your home planet." Phaedra glanced out the window. "I wish I had those kinds of clear memories."

"Sorry. How about we head towards the beach and have some fun. That's why we're here."

Of course, with the attention came the reporter who was definitely curious regarding the strangers, yet Starfire didn't hold back in talking with them while the other two girls waved from behind, smirking at the camera. Despite their vague memories, they both knew enough, but ate up the attention, knowing full well they'd want to make the best of things before Wonder Woman showed up in order that they might drag them back to the island.

They also got the ice-cream like Kori's girlfriend wanted. The treat was actually quite nice, something all three enjoyed – until a group of young men around their age from the local school suddenly decided they would make some rather lewd jokes – jokes which Starfire noticed upset Phaedra, the context of being with a man not being something she liked, though Nefeli shrugged it off. She lifted her hands, planning on shooting off her starbolts when Nefeli grabbed her hand, pointing to a game they were watching being played out on the beach.

"I bet we can beat you at that."

"And if we win, you three will actually go on a date with us."

Phaedra's eye twitched, yet Starfire, even with how free she was regarding the issue of love didn't appreciate the connotations of the comment. Nefeli narrowed her eyes. "As if we'd lose."

The whole point was enjoying the three males getting trashed, though how she knew that was the word for what they were doing let alone the fact the game was beach volleyball, she didn't know. Slamming the ball over the net onto the other side – she felt her desire to wreck things abated somewhat but enjoying the looks on the guys' faces as they lost the game.

Nefeli placed her hands on her hips. "So, we agreed to what we would do if you three won, but we never discussed what we would do if you lost, right?"

"How about we just let those three go?"

Starfire turned her head towards a familiar voice, seeing a girl wearing a cloak accompanied by a boy who was – well, green.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note - There are quite a few origin stories for the Amazon, but for this one I am pulling inspiration from "Fury", an episode of DCAU's Justice League and the character Aresia - to a degree.


	8. Cold Reception

"So cold. It's so cold!"

Beast Boy was possibly not the best choice for teaming up with, given the fact he was the youngest of the Teen Titans and did better when Robin was around directing the young shapeshifters energy yet also keeping Raven from throttling her fellow Titan. Still, she didn't respond, understanding the flight from Gotham to Happy Harbor was a rather grueling one.

After all, she felt the chill air against her skin while she used her ability to fly, knowing full well she used up energy traveling this way. When they landed, she saw Beast Boy shudder in the bird form he took on, letting out a groan while he transformed. "Why are we doing this again?"

"To save a friend."

"Um, yeah. What friend?"

"You're the one who took issue with the fact I acted in a familiar manner with you despite the fact you don't know me."

"Of course, I'd take issue with you acting like family! You're a cute girl! Though..."

"You're likely pondering _how_ I was acting in a familial manner to you, giving the fact you mistook familial and familiar as meaning the same thing." Raven let out a sigh, heading towards the beach, not caring whether or not they drew attention, given the fact Starfire already drew attention to the given situation, meaning she needed to act before someone else did. In truth, she found the situation aggravating, wishing she had Cyborg or Robin on her side. " _Except, that doesn't help much when it's Robin we're trying to protect._ "

The beach wasn't far from their landing point, yet they did, thankfully go rather unnoticed. The problem was Starfire somehow already found trouble between when she was interviewed on the television and their arrival. She didn't like the look on the one Amazon girl's face when she said, "So, we agreed to what we would do if you three won, but we never discussed what we would do if you lost, right?"

"How about we just let those three go?" Raven stood there, her arms crossed, glaring at the three girls, quite unsure she could defeat two Amazon and a Tamaranean princess with just – well, Beast Boy, yet she also couldn't let Starfire and her two new friends do something which would turn the public against heroes.

She watched the three youth back away, one of them lifting up his hands. "Yeah. Let's just let us guys leave, okay? We really meant no harm."

"No harm?" One of the eyes of a girl twitched, almost as if she saw being male as a form of being harmful.

The situation was definitely not to Raven's liking, yet Starfire was going along with the situation. In the back of her mind, it bothered her that the older girl wasn't – well, being the kind of person Robin fell in love with, yet in the back of her mind she thought said person was still there – her empathic ability made her suspect such. She stood there with her arms crossed, waiting, not knowing what would happen.

"We don't know you." One of the Amazon girls narrowed her eyes.

" _Translation – who are you and why are you interrupting our fun._ " Raven continued standing there.

"Yeah. I kind of asked her that as well."

"I wasn't asking you."

" _Yeah. Something tells me this one doesn't like anyone who isn't female, but then – she also doesn't like you. Can't blame her._ " Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Beast Boy look down at the ground, obviously a little upset regarding the manner in which the Amazon teen dismissed him so easily.

"So..." Starfire raised her hand, much in the manner Raven remembered. "Who are you?"

"Apparently..."

"Again, we're not talking to you."

Raven let one of her eyebrows shoot up. "Who am I? That's honestly a good question, but so is the reason I've come looking for you."

"Me?" Starfire pointed a finger at her chest, her eyes indicating Raven's word's excited her.

The Amazon teen who obviously didn't like the male part of the species held her arm out in front of Starfire, glaring at Raven. "I don't trust you."

"Yes, well, my business isn't with you."

"Hey, is this the friend we're trying to save?" Beast Boy turned his head towards Raven. "I mean, these girls don't seem like bad guys. I mean, sure, they don't like guys, I think..."

Raven glared at him, making him shut up. She clenched her hands together. The other Amazon teen spoke. "Look, you say your business isn't with us, but since it involves our friend, I think it does."

She couldn't deny the logic the Amazon teen used, yet time wasn't on her side. "You don't think the fact you showed your faces on television wouldn't draw attention to you? That's how Beast Boy and I found you three."

"Yeah." Beast Boy folded his arms across his chest, puffing it out. "We're on a mission. Plus, don't any of you know not to draw attention to yourselves."

"It's not as if we'll be allowed to stay once Wonder Woman finds out, so we're making the best of the situation. We're simply having fun."

"Uh, yeah." Beast Boy swallowed, obviously not liking the idea that their fun possibly included picking on guys. That definitely wasn't the kind of behavior Raven _liked_ the idea of someone like Starfire learning either. The actual important thing was dealing with the current situation, before...

A sudden fit of giggles coming out of seemingly nowhere sent a shiver down Raven's spine. The fit of giggles – it wasn't comparable to the Joker, and yet she still recognized the uncharacteristic behavior as coming from Robin, which was the real reason behind why the sound sent shivers down her spine.


	9. Flash to Aster

Aqualad's unwavering faith in the team's abilities honestly did nothing towards relieving the anxiety Kid Flash felt regarding the fact they were going up against Two Amazon females and an alien with the super strength of Superman and some other strange power. He let out a sigh, his head turning towards Robin, watching his best friend plaster a smile onto his face.

Just minutes before, Robin was definitely _not_ in his usual chipper mood, yet he now hid this like he usually did. Almost everyone knew Robin as Batman's cheerful sidekick, yet Wally – Kid Flash – was one of the few people who the dark funks Batman went into were nothing compared to the dark funk everyone's favorite little bird went into. In some ways, despite the fact Robin was more adamant against killing than Batman, he became scarier when his dark moods hit.

Worse, his earlier conversation with Robin honestly bothered him.

In the back of his mind, he knew Robin wasn't telling him _everything_ regarding the appearance of the strange girl, yet the mere fact she _knew_ Robin's secret identity – that was enough to make Kid Flash paranoid despite telling Robin not to be so. Even more troubling was the admittance that the girl intruded upon Robin's mind; while Robin seemed honestly _bothered_ by her intrusion, he also didn't _act_ like the intrusion was anything like Miss Maritan's.

Taking a deep breath, he moved his shoulder, warming up for when the door opened allowing them outside of the mountain so they could, in fact, go out in search of the three girls, He felt Miss Martian enter his mind, forming the communication, his eyes glued on their newest team member in an attempt to avoid eye contact with their temporary team member.

Cyborg was watching Robin.

Kid Flash wasn't sure what was going on, but when Cyborg tapped Robin's shoulder so the youngest member would turn and look him in the eye so he might say something – whatever he said definitely bothered Robin. The mask of positivity Robin always put on fell away, leaving Kid Flash to walk over and tap Cyborg on the shoulder while Robin hurried away, out to Happy Harbor.

"Hey!"

"You're really fast, right? That's why you're called Kid Flash? The Flash is your mentor."

"What went down between you and Robin there?"

Cyborg glanced back in the direction Robin headed. "What went down? I simply mentioned the fact I thought we'd met before, but I can't place where I recognized him. Anyways, I'm supposed to be staying back so as to not draw attention to myself."

"Yeah." Kid Flash took a deep breath, hurrying after Robin. A quick communication told him his friend was heading towards the beach, but he arrived just as he heard Robin's trademark laughing, meaning...

Robin was going in on his own without waiting for the team.

Kid Flash wasn't sure what happened next, yet he suddenly saw a girl dressed in rather gothic attire, similar to what Robin described. She held onto the front of his clothing, her eyes narrowed. "Where's Robin?"

KidFlash took in a deep breath, looking around at the chaos on the beach,realizing that in the chaos Robin had in fact disappeared.


	10. Turbing to...

Aqualad's words didn't make Robin feel the aster any less.

" _Agent A will be upset if something happens to you._ "

The words still rattled around in his brain, yet he couldn't help but think, " _What about you? Would you care if something happened to me?_ " In the back of his mind, there was also the issue of _that_ girl trying to warn him, telling him Slade was in fact after him. He wasn't sure what bothered him the most – the fact she knew he was in danger, or the fact she acted like she knew him – as in knew him, knew him.

Meeting Cyborg...

For some reason that felt strange, like the young cyborg's handshake was somehow familiar, but the teens one eye – it almost as if there was also some kind of recognition on his part. He brushed this away, chalking it up to the paranoia Kid Flash forewarned him about, letting Kid Flash interact with Cyborg with the video games pushing the thought further back into his mind. That was, until...

"Question? Do we know each other? Have we met before?"

The level of aster for today quickly shot up for Robin as he stared at the hulking Cyborg, his mouth twisted into a definite look of contemplation. Honestly, _this_ was likely one of the worst times for something like this to happen, when the team was _supposed_ to be going out on a mission. His smile fell; he slipped from Mount Justice, getting ahead of everyone else, getting away before anyone started acting majorly worried over something which was nothing.

Well, _something_ wasn't nothing.

He took to the roofs, looking for an orange alien and two Amazon chicks despite knowing taking off on his own didn't really help the team much. Finding the team – that was no difficult task even with Kid Flash chattering in his head asking where he took off towards, while Aqualad gave a lecture about – well, taking off like he usually did.

" _At least with that other girl, she controlled who got what message – how do I know that?_ " He should have felt relieved when he found the three at the beach, yet the girl who intruded upon his mind earlier in the morning was there with a boy who was green. " _Well, I found them on the beach._ "

" _Don't..._ "

Robin didn't wait for Aqualad's orders despite the fact he knew the older teen was the definite leader of the team, letting his frustrations get the better of him. He dived right in, letting out his trademark laugh as he dove right into the fray, perching himself up on one of the structures, balancing precariously as usual. "So, what's going on? Am I missing out on the fun?"

The girl who approached him earlier looked at him as if she found his behavior uncharacteristic, yet the look on the orange alien's face – a flicker of recognition was there, yet she also looked as if she were treating him like some kind of eye candy. "Um. Do we know each other? Have..."

"I've heard that more than once today." In the back of his head, his head started throbbing, realizing that maybe, just maybe he knew the green-haired kid before.

"Actually, I'm sure we've dated."

"Wh..." Robin's eyes widened, remembering how Wally – Kid Flash – constantly teased him for _never_ having had a girlfriend, yet the orange alien in front of him – who was definitely a looker, insisted they'd dated. It felt... "Definitely not concerted right now."

"Well, I'm finding this rather concerting as well."

He felt his blood freeze upon hearing the alien girl use one of his unwords, his stomach lurching majorly. He barely registered the look of irritation one of the Amazonian girl's faces, let alone her movement towards smashing the structure he was on. He found himself flipping through the air, his eyes narrowing while he landed on his feet. "Woah! Totally turbed..."

Something yanked him backward through the air while the Amazon tried making another attack, sand showering through the air, while his breath left. He turned towards the person, expecting to thank Miss Martian, only to pause after, "Than..."

The person who pulled him back was, in fact, the strange girl who intruded upon his mind earlier that morning, yet she looked down upon him, glaring. His eyes narrowed. "Well, that's honestly more of what I expected from you."

Robin twisted away, gritting his teeth together while another barrage came in his direction, but he found himself lying on his back contemplating how the strange girl knew a darker side of him and looking up at the orange alien – with a view which definitely made his cheeks heat up, her bikini definitely showing a lot of skin. She frowned, pondering something. "So, we're fighting?"

"Ugh." Robin rolled away just in time for Kid Flash to come sliding in with a wave of sand created by his ability to run very fast. The rest of the team came in, but he saw Wonder Girl slam a fist into the face of the one girl, making him wince. He found himself dodging away as the girl came flying at him, finding him face to face with the girl, his fingers reaching for a couple of Batarangs just as Cyborg came out of nowhere.

The look on her face...

Robin struggled with contemplating the look of shock, yet recognition upon her face, yet he wondered if he was really needed like Batman suggested, his small body now behind one of the buildings while he heard the orange alien speak. "Wait. Come back."

"Um... why?"

"I'm quite sure we were dating once."

"Um, yeah..." Robin swallowed. "I don't exactly remember that. I _really_ think I would remember if I had."

"Because I'm orange."

"Um, because you're pretty?" He was behind another building, unaware of what was going on, when he saw Miss Martian come hurtling at the orange alien, knocking her out of sight. Robin took a deep breath, fully intent on getting back into the fray when he felt something cover his mouth from behind. " _Shit._ "

His vision started to blur, then he completely blacked out, his body going limp.


	11. Unexpected Turns

Chaos.

He was the leader of the team of young vigilantes mentored by various members of the Justice League, yet there was no denying the fact he – Aqualad – was incapable of preventing their later mission from dissolving into chaos, and in front of the protégée of Wonder Woman, none the less.

In fact, Robin taking off on him wasn't lost on him.

He wasn't expecting a strange girl to grab onto the front of Kid Flash's clothing, glaring at the young speedster, her anger all too apparent. In fact, the shadows she manipulated flared dangerously. "Where's Robin?"

Aqualad took a deep breath of the air, nearly choking due to his preference for breathing water through the gills on his neck, his eyes looking around the chaos. Something was wrong, definitely wrong, for while Robin disappeared, he never blended into the shadows quietly, his laughter echoing out from wherever he chooses to create mischief, of from a device meant as a misdirection.

He saw Wonder Girl holding onto one of the Amazon teens while the green boy who appeared with the shadow girl helped hold her down, cursing into the sand while the other was held onto by Cyborg and Superboy. He watched Cyborg's attention go from the green boy to the girl, his one human eye blinking. "I know you. I know you two and that orange alien chick."

Aqualad watched the shadow girl relax a bit, yet what Cyborg said majorly bothered him. Something was definitely off.

"He's Beast Boy, you're Raven, that was Starfire, but the leader of Teen Titans is Robin."

The only sound of the torn-up beach area was the cursing of the one Amazon female. In the back of his mind, he knew – he knew full well Robin did, in fact, have the necessary leadership skills, that he would make a good team leader, so he wasn't _surprised_ finding out something like this, yet on the other hand – none of them knew. In all of their minds, their team was _the_ first team.

"Raven. You asked where Robin is?"

"Slade's after him again."

The sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach increased, but Cyborg _let go_ of the person he was supposed to be holding onto, planning on charging right into town. Aqualad held up his hand, stepping physically in front of the young man. "Move." Of course, he had no plans on moving. "You aren't the leader of Teen Titans." Cyborg brushed by him, making Aqualad let out a sigh. "And he's obviously not here."

Raven – that was apparently the name of the shadow girl – turned toward the green boy. "Beast Boy."

"Right... I'll..."

"We're going to need the help of Robin's new team, so you stay here with another person with super strength and the rest of us will go on ahead."

"But..."

"Cyborg and Starfire are likely creating enough of a mess without you helping them." Raven let go of the front of Kid Flash's uniform, her eyes drifting over to the two who were holding down the two Amazon teens. "Well, which one of you are coming with us?"

Superboy swallowed, looking right at her. "I'll go. I think Wonder Girl will be more likely to talk some sense into these two here."

Aqualad let out a deep breath. " _Megan. We have a problem._ " When she didn't answer, his eyebrow wrinkled. " _Megan_? _"_

Kid Flash turned, his eyes widening in worry. "What's wrong?"

"The connection Miss Martian put up is gone."

A sudden explosion in town made the teens look over in that particular direction. Raven let out a sigh, pointing her thumb in the direction of the explosion. "I'm guessing that's where your Miss Martian and our Starfire are fighting, but before we can even think about going after Robin, we'll need to clean up this mess."

"Yes. Definitely." Aqualad started walking forward.

"I know you're likely not interested in setting up a link with me, but I can tell Cyborg you're in charge, ate least until we get Robin back."

None of the team there liked _that_ , yet Aqualad gave them a look indicating they would go along with what Raven said. "I'm going on ahead to put out that fire. Superboy, get there without causing too much more damage. Kid Flash..."

"Please don't tell me to contact Batman because the situation's gotten that dire. I _really_ hate having to deal with Batman, particularly when Rob's involved."

"No. I want you to start looking around town, seeing if you can't find anything that might give us an idea of what happened to Robin." He watched Kid Flash let out a sigh of relief, before heading towards the place the explosion occurred, yet within minutes he heard other sounds of destruction. Miss Martian and Starfire were definitely going at it, frustrating him, but he focused instead on putting out the fire.

He saw Cyborg standing there, almost as if he was unsure of what to do, yet he turned towards Superboy when he arrived. "If you hold onto yours, I'll hold onto ours."

Cyborg hurried over to Starfire. "Hey, Star..."

"Hey..." Superboy stepped towards Miss Martian.

For a brief moment he thought the two would simply hold onto the two girls, preventing them from using their powers, only to realize too late Miss Maritan was starting to intrude upon Starfire's mind, the most likely result – things would become much worse unless someone else interfered.


	12. Blast

Things definitely didn't go as she expected, starting off with Robin laughing in a manner she found quite uncharacteristic for his no-nonsense leadership style to him actually disappearing from right under everyone's noses to her finding herself countering another person's telepathy when they attempted intruding upon Starfire's mind. She knew from the way the girl with the green-colored skin and the red hair placed fingers against her temple.

What she saw...

Honestly, what she saw in front of her didn't frighten her in the slightest, having dealt with what she felt were far worse nightmarish things produced by her own father, yet she picked up on the fear lurking in the back of the mind of someone discovering their secret, of thinking them a monster which in turn created a defensive measure on their part, pushing back in a surprising manner, and extra mental strength which was unexpected.

Yet, she also felt the person in question recoil from her own mind. "You – you intruded upon my mind."

Raven found herself looking at the girl with the green skin and red hair, her eyes wide with surprise, yet she easily senses how the situation made everyone uncomfortable. In the back of her mind, she remembered all too well one of her past mentors warning her about using her telepathy in an intrusive manner, for while this might prove an effective weapon, there were definite outcomes she might not like.

She watched Superboy glanced nervously between her and the green-skinned girl while Cyborg and Aqualad looked rather dumbfounded regarding the matter. Starfire floated there, no longer attacking, the words the girl with green skin said catching her off guard. Raven lowered herself to the ground using her abilities while the other girl did the same. "I'm..."

The other girl didn't let her finish her apology, her hand reaching out to strike her cheek with the palm of her hand while tears welled in her eyes. The anger was evident, yet Raven knew this wasn't from the fact she'd intruded upon her mind, but instead because she discovered a secret the girl hid inside of herself in a dark corner. Raven also suspected the girl found herself exposed to the dark crevices of her own mind when she'd pushed back, which with the end result of her backing off without Raven doing anything.

Worse, she definitely looked like the definite bad guy in this situation, particularly after being evasive regarding the questions put forth by the leader of this group regarding Robin.

"Woah." She felt a gust of wind as the young man dressed in yellow sped up next to her. She tried recollecting what the leader called the yellow kid. "What happened?"

"She..."

"Yeah," Superboy rubbed the back of his neck. "Don't take this the wrong way, but you're not necessarily innocent in that department."

"Plus, were you not going to use your powers in the same manner on someone else" This statement came from the leader.

The boy in the bright yellow suit and the vivid red hair looked around. "Wait. What happened?"

Starfire remained floating in the air, a finger having drifted up to her orange lips while she observed the situation. "She said something about intruding upon her mind. I suspect that, if someone doesn't give permission, that is a rather unpleasant experience."

"Oh boy." The one in yellow let out a deep breath. She still didn't remember what the yellow kid was called. "I think we have better things to worry about, given the fact, you know, Robin is missing."

"Robin?"

"You know, the guy who's shorter than me, dressed in bright clothing, has the letter R on his chest?" The one in yellow spoke up, the corner of his mouth twisting down slightly, far from amused with her reaction. Her mind clicked regarding the name of the yellow kid – his name being Kid Flash because of who his mentor was.

"Oh! You mean him. I'm quite sure we've dated."

She watched Kid Flash's mouth drop, his eyes focused on Starfire who – she was still dressed in a bikini, so she showed quite a bit of her orange skin. The shape of her body was definitely the type that would attract most males attracted to the opposite sex. She also looked older than Robin, her equivalent age physically being in her older teens, though eventually, Robin would physically age past her.

"Um. Sure. Last time I checked; Rob doesn't have a girlfriend."

"How would you know?"

"Because..."

"Raven."

Raven took a deep breath, recognizing the voice of her current mentor. The voice came from above. She turned, looking up at the woman dressed in what looked like something a female stage magician might wear. She let out a sigh seeing the older girl the league selected as her mentor, not so much in magical skills, yet other aspects of life, almost like a big sister of sorts.

Kid Flash looked up. "Um, who is that?"

"Zatanna, magician extraordinaire." Zatanna pointed her finger at Raven. "You know this might affect whether the league lets you on the team, right? More importantly, I don't appreciate Batman calling me up letting me know I was looking in all the wrong places for you Raven."

Cyborg leaned over, whispering into Raven's ear. "Who is she?"

"My mentor, assigned by the league," Raven muttered – not that she hated Zatanna. She found herself used to how the Teen Titans did things without any help from the adults. "So..."

"I'd ask for an explanation, but the entire group must retreat back to the mountain."

"Wait!" Superboy flung his hand out. "Robin is a member of our team. We should be the ones out looking for him."

Raven felt the corner of her mouth twist up slightly at his statement, her mind agreeing fully. Her attention turned towards the girl with green skin, who continued to glare at her, yet there was the added feeling of jealousy for some strange reason. She didn't understand why brushing the thought away. Zatanna jumped down.

"I don't necessarily disagree with you, but the best option is to return to the mountain to regroup, particularly since you've managed to find your targets. More importantly, we don't need your group drawing attention to yourselves. I've already cast a few spells on the other group allowing them to proceed, but in case you haven't noticed, sirens are going off. In fact, in case you haven't noticed, there is a fire here."

"I..." The leader flinched, turning towards the small fire everyone ignored. "I'll take care of that and we can leave." Water came out of the tools he carried with him, dousing the fire.

Cyborg looked at her. "Wait. What about clearance. Raven, Beast Boy, even Starfire don't have clearance."

"Batman will have taken care of that."

Taking a deep breath, Raven honestly wasn't thrilled about dealing with Batman.


	13. Vision

They arrived at the mountain a few minutes later. Raven felt the tense atmosphere, her mind knowing full well she would find herself on the receiving end of a lecture from Zatanna. She watched the leader – apparently, his name was Aqualad – move towards the computers, pushing buttons and looking at the information, clearing his throat when Batman came on the screen. She winched, not wishing to deal with Batman in such a situation on anyone.

"Don't think you're in the clear. I can, I think, be stern like Batman can be." Zatanna placed a hand on Raven's shoulder, indicating they should speak regarding the situation. They headed away from the entrance into the mountain, arriving in a place with a kitchen and den area, reminding Raven of the old hangout for the Teen Titans, she let out a deep breath, wishing the place still existed.

A girl dressed in a uniform with stars on it stood in front of the couch, glaring at the two girls, waiting for them to come too, her eyes drifting up upon hearing them approach. Beast Boy stood next to her, staring at the girls, unsure of what he should himself do, yet not realizing Raven arrived in the room. "Could you possibly remove the sleep spell. I have my lasso around them."

The girl sounded like a young Wonder Woman, yet the name Wonder Girl instantly popped into Raven's head. Zatanna waved her hand. "Ekaw pu won!"

Raven watched her mentor's magic go to work, while she heard the others heading into the room. "I don't know why you're mad at me Connor."

That came from the green girl apparently called Miss Martian. She turned and looked, not wanting to face another glare from the other girl. She heard Superboy speak up. "I'm not mad at you."

Reading the emotions in the room, which were thick, she managed to decern that no, he wasn't mad at her. Not unless the feeling was on the mild side compared to other emotions reeving around in the room. Miss Martian let out a sigh. "Yes, you are."

"No, I'm not."

Raven watched Beast Boy look up, the conversation drawing his attention as the two girls on the couch began moving, at least one groaning as they woke up. One of them spoke up. "Hey! Untie us already!"

"You both know you're not supposed to leave Themyscira without permission. The older Amazon women are attempting to figure out how you discovered a way off."

Something orange flew past, heading over to the girls. Starfire floated there, her mouth forming a pout. "Come on Donna. Be nice."

"You're lucky you're not tied up as well."

"What did we do wrong?"

"Do I really have to repeat myself?" Donna sighed. "You aren't able to leave Themyscira without permission."

Raven sighed, watching Starfire continue to pout. In some ways, Starfire was naïve, such as being naïve to certain things regarding Earth's culture. In other ways, she came across as naïve, when her culture simply clashed in some manner, or her ideas clashed with someone else's idea. One of the other girls let out a sigh. "Except we're not going to get permission like you are, are we?"

"Raven," Zatanna spoke up, indicating they should head away from the conversation so they might have their own.

However, as she followed Zatanna, she couldn't help but overhear the following exchange, Starfire starting the conversation. "Nefeli is right. Plus, there is nowhere on Themscira for Phaedra and me to have a real date." Then Starfire said. "What's wrong?"

"What's wrong? You said you thought you dated that guy. You dated a guy."

Raven let out a sigh, honestly not wanting to be a part of that conversation, glad somewhat she was getting a lecture from Zatanna. She overheard Donna let out a sigh. "Look, just because you're exclusive to the same sex doesn't mean your partner is, but I think this is a conversation for when Diana is here."

"Yeah, you would say that."

Thankfully, they became quiet right before Raven entered another area of the mountain, yet she hoped this wouldn't flare up again, not when they needed to focus on finding Robin. When they arrived at a private place where they could discuss things – and likely wait for Batman to show up rather than making a move – Zatanna turned. "I'd like an explanation."

"I had a vision."

"Why didn't you come to me regarding your vision?"

"Because I thought the Teen Titans could handle it. Because the vision showed me I needed to get them together."

"I could have helped."

"It wouldn't have worked if the league tried getting the group together. I have no idea where Cyborg was, but Beast Boy ran away from home and Starfire also took off. There would have been no way for them to be here where they were needed. I'm not saying that it has to be just the Teen Titans, though I thought that when I left."

"You don't know?"

"I think it would be wrong not to include Robin's new team."

"What are you going to do if Batman decides that you can't go after Robin, that this isn't a mission for the team."

"I'd go anyways. Robin saved me. It's not returning one favor for another mind you. It's about saving a friend, someone who's like family."

"I see." Zatanna let out a sigh. "I also need to ask, what triggered the vision."

Raven swallowed, remembering the poster for the Flying Grayson poster she saw in the living room of Zatanna's apartment which triggered the empathic reaction first, of Zatanna actually knowing the Grayson family, of his cousin calling him little bird, of reading about their deaths in the paper, but putting her ring aside, yet for some reason, this triggered a vision of Slade right after the fact.

"I'm not sure how to put this."

"Try me."

"I think you've met Robin before he became Robin, though to be honest, I don't know why that would trigger the vision regarding Slade."

"You actually know Robin's identity?" Zatanna's question didn't receive an answer from her. "Don't worry. I'm not going to ask for his identity. I may eventually figure it out on my own, though to be honest I've met a lot of people having traveled with a few different circuses, but also having different stage shows at different venues. I'm aware Batman is protective of his and Robin's identities, so I'm not going to push the issue."


	14. Behind the Mask

He heard his own voice let out a groan.

His mind felt fuzzy, his limbs heavy. His eyes opened, blinking a few times while he attempted to get some kind of awareness regarding his personal space. Noticing the manner his vision blurred from being in a half-conscious state was one of the first things he noticed, the other being the way his hands were pulled behind him, around the back of a chair, tired behind him. He took in a deep breath through his mouth, letting it out while he closed his eyes, letting his mind wake up.

With his nose closed, he attempted taking in the smells around him. The place smelled salty, an old fish smell lingering over the place, meaning the place was possibly once used for the processing or storage of fish. In his mind, this made sense, given the fact he was in Happy Harbor a few minutes ago, yet on the other hand, he wondered how the person who grabbed him managed to get away unnoticed, given the fact the team had a speedster on them.

Of course, he also recognized the fact his mask remained on his face.

Taking another deep breath, he opened his eyes, his vision blurring less, yet everything in the room proved hazy for a few more minutes. When his vision finally cleared, he saw they were in a storage container, a few lights set up in the corners of the room, the bright lights having effected his ability to clear the haze from his vision, yet he saw a chair in front of him. His eyes narrowed, wondering where the person who kidnapped him was.

A hand-clapping down on his shoulder made a slight hiss leave his lips, his eyes narrowing even more. From behind said shoulder, he heard a man speak. "Oh, don't do that."

The person walked around, plopping down in the chair across from him, sitting down in a rather relaxed position, watching him from behind his mask, his head tilted. Despite how lax the person was in their behavior, he knew they weren't someone to mess around with, a shiver running down his spine. He swallowed, stiffening, still gauging the situation, yet he recognized the mask.

Yet, recent reports on the Batcave said Deathstroke – aka – Slade Wilson – was in fact sighted elsewhere in the world.

"I don't get it."

"You don't get what?"

"You're not Slade."

"What do you mean I'm not Slade."

Robin flinched, the memory of black hair behind a similar broken mask to the one in front of him plaguing his memory. "Why? Well, I don't know where to start off with. I could start with the fact Deathstroke's been sighted in another place very recently. To recently for you to be here. That, and for some reason, I doubt your hair is white."

"So you do remember me."

Robin's eyes opened and closed slowly. "Do I remember you? Let me think? I know I've never met the real Deathstroke, which has honestly bothered me regarding what that girl said this morning, warning me Slade – I am assuming is you – were after me."

"Look, I know you _like_ playing games, but I honestly am not in the mood for this."

"Seriously. I'm the one not feeling the aster here." Robin's eyes opened. His eyes narrowed. "No, I don't know you."

"Yet you knew my hair was dark and not white."

"Yeah, I'm honestly not sure why I know that. I honestly don't know why you're after me unless you're really after Batman." He grinned at the man, showing all of his teeth even though he knew this might result in the man becoming violent. "Just to let you know, not the first person to try that, but every single one's failed. Big time. Not to mention you don't want to be on the wrong side of Batman."

"Oh, I definitely don't want Batman. I want you."

"Yeah, that sounds creepy you know."

"Of course, I'm still debating whether I want to kill him or not." The man let out a tisking sound. "See, you should be _my_ apprentice, not his."

"Apprentice?" One of Robin's eyebrows shot up, taking in what the man said, yet not feeling any serious danger, despite the fact he knew he should fear the man.

"Apprentice. That's how things are."

"How things are?"

"Seriously. How can you not understand I want you as my apprentice?"

"No. I mean, the way you said it you make it sound like it's some kind... of tradition." Robin narrowed his eyes again. "You're _his_ apprentice. That's why you call yourself Slade, but you're not Slade Wilson."

"Yes, yes I am."

"No, you're not. Not unless."

"I'm a junior. He took me in, trained me. Of course, I was already being trained as an assassin for the Court of Owls. The next Talon, but they wanted you instead. They didn't get you, so I guess I should be glad for that in the least. We hated the Court of Owls."

"Why?"

"Why. I don't care to remember. I simply know they're the enemy." Slade tapped his head.

Robin took a deep breath. "Look. I _don't_ know who you are, or why you are acting _like_ you know me."

"You don't?" The apprentice of Slade Wilson let out a sigh. "Would me killing Bruce Wayne convince you I know who you are baby bird?"

Robin's eyes opened and closed, the nickname definitely familiar, his throat tightening while he fought back a scream. Biting the tip of his tongue he shook his head, shaking it back and forth a few times. "No. You're dead."

"Obviously I'm not, but apparently something I said made you realize _who_ I am."

"You're dead!"

"No, I'm not!"

A shiver ran down Robin's spine, his eyes opening up. He didn't know what he should say.

"Say my name."

Robin shook his head, not wanting to say that name.

"Say my name and what my relationship is to you."

He spoke in a whisper, the name slipping from his tongue. "Your name is John Grayson. Johnathan Grayson, named after my father, but my older cousin. Who's supposed to be dead. You're supposed to be dead John."

"Obviously I'm not."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The cartoon Teen Titans hints that the Slade Wilson in their universe might possibly be someone else - an alias.


	15. Teaming Up

"I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize. There was information you weren't privy about I perhaps should have relayed to you."

These words from Batman honestly unsettled Aqualad, his mind contemplating why someone known for contingency plans for once didn't, yet also found him unsettled by the fact the man apologized. He felt his throat tighten slightly before speaking. "Was there something which tied your hands?"

"Something like that. Honestly, I felt you should have been apprised of the Teen Titans when you became the leader, but certain members of the league were concerned about Robin not remembering. Discussing the fact Raven showed up this morning warning Robin was also not something I could explain given his secret identity."

"There's more to this. I mean, why didn't you prevent Robin from going with us?"

Aqualad's question was met at first with silence, then Batman spoke up. "If I forbid him from going out as a member of the team he would have snuck out on his own here in Gotham when he got home. At the time, given the fact he hates when I take being that he hates when I take being Robin away from him, This seemed like the best option."

"What should we do."

"I've not yet decided. The league still needs to gather information. You might want to talk to Raven."

Stepping away from the console he used to communicate with Batman, he walked into the living room area finding a situation he honestly wasn't looking forward to untangling. Wonder Girl stood in front of the couch where she'd made the two Amazonian females who were part of their original mission sit, meaning Superboy couldn't listen to the static on the television as he wished.

In the meantime, Superboy was becoming on edge from the way Miss Martian tried prying into the way he was feeling regarding the situation, obviously feeling guilty for attempting to intrude upon another's mind, only for Raven to stop her. In truth, Aqualad didn't know how he'd handle the situation if Miss Martian did something which couldn't be reversed, yet as Raven came back into the room with her mentor – something told him Miss Martian did not like her.

Of course, there was also Starfire who dressed in the skinny bathing suit which caught the attention of one Kid Flash whose jaw remained dropped and gaping. The fact Starfire insisted Robin was her boyfriend also felt strange, yet so was how Cyborg and the one they called Beast Boy making themselves home in the kitchen raiding the fridge which Kid Flash – who didn't notice – would complain about later. That, and one of the Amazon females kept glaring at Kid Flash.

"Raven, care to feel us in?"

"It's rather complicated." Raven looked him in the eye. "I know it's Slade."

"How?"

"A vision I had."

Kid Flash scoffed at the idea, his eyes finally turning away from ogling at Starfire. "Um, yeah right."

"No. That's not an unheard-of thing from Atlantis." His eyes picked up on how Raven relaxed, yet Miss Martian glanced away.

"The best way to put it, I knew I had to put the team together, but the person we're up against is Slade."

"Why does Slade want Robin?"

"Honestly, I don't think any of us understood the why behind that, beyond the fact he wanted to make Robin his apprentice."

Aqualad's mouth opened, his mind processing the information. Kid Flash darted over. "Okay. Maybe the better question is, who is Slade?"

"We don't know that either. That's why we could never figure out why he was fixated on Robin, beyond the fact it likely has something to do with his past." For some reason, Raven looked over at her mentor whose eyes widened, as if there was something Raven said to her which actually got her thinking. Zatanna's mouth opened, then closed, as if what she was thinking wasn't appropriate, but then Raven specifically said what was going on had to do with Robin's past which meant his secret identity.

"Shouldn't the team do something?" Miss Maritan piped up. "I mean, we can't leave Robin in the clutches of this Slade person, but by the time the league acts on this it might be too late."

"I agree, with the fact if we don't act now, it might be too late." Aqualad stood there with his arms crossed. "However, I think we should include the Teen Titans – at least the ones who remember."

"But I want to go. I want to rescue Robin." There was Starfire again, in her super distracting clothing.

"You mean the guy you supposedly dated?" The comment came from the rather irate Amazon female.

"You said you were open to me dating other people."

"Other girls."

Aqualad cleared his throat. "You can't restrict a person's sexuality like that."

"What the hell would you know! You're a male!"

"I think the two Teen Titans who don't remember, at least not yet, should remain behind." Wonder Girl spoke up. "I'll go instead, but I think one member of the team should stay behind and help them. Starfire is a loose cannon, but the other – I don't think he has much brains."

"Hey!" Beast Boy spoke up.

Aqualad looked over at Miss Martian. "Megan, I want you in charge, and see if you can't find something a little less revealing for our guest?"

"She can wear whatever she wants, you..."

"No." Wonder Girl glared at the two Amazon girls still tied to the couch. "Beachwear is inappropriate inside. However, the outfit she was wearing needs to be retrieved from wherever she left it."

"I don't understand why I'm not going." Starfire pointed out. "I do remember Robin was my boyfriend."

Raven looked at her while Miss Martian glared at Raven making Aqualad wonder if he'd stepped into the mud regarding the situation. "Do you remember anything else?"

"Well, no. Robin was the most..."

"You might want to stop talking now." Beast Boy hid behind Cyborg. I think – I think that girlfriend of yours doesn't like you talking about your ex."

"Oh! Why didn't you say so, Phaedra?"

For some reason, Aqualad didn't think _that_ was the full issue going on. Kid Flash raised his hand. "One problem. How do we _find_ Robin? I mean, I didn't find any trace of him or the guy who took him."

"Yet they can't have gotten far. We would have seen a vehicle." Miss Martian piped up, the look on her face saying she felt she could be helpful.

"About that," Zatanna let out a deep breath. "I might be able to help with that." Aqualad stared, a bit surprised one of the adult members of the League was helping them. "Also, Red Tornado and Martian Manhunter are also here, so they can help take care of the Amazon girls while the team heads out on another mission."

Except, Batman hadn't given them a mission, yet Aqualad remembered Batman telling him he should speak to Raven, meaning he wanted him to decide on his own. "Then let's do this."


	16. Nightmare

He wanted to scream.

He, a child so unafraid of the Joker that he laughed in the man's face was most definitely in that very moment afraid. Robin sat there, his jaw dropped open, his mind processing what was unfolding in front of him. Even after saying John's name out loud, he struggled with believing the person in front of him was, in fact, alive and well.

His breathing – it came in shallow breaths, while his eyes clamped shut.

Only, closing his eyes made things worse, way worse as the memory of that day swam up from the depths of his mind. A shudder ran down his spine, his mind remembering looking down on the bodies of the five other Grayson family members, the way their bodies contorted, how blood seeped out, not to mention how they moved. He remembered seeing his uncle Richard in the hospital bed – still seeing when he garnered the courage to visit the man he assumed his last living relative, but also the funeral where they – Bruce, he and Alfred – buried the other four.

His mind swam, his breath coming in ragged again, his body straining slightly. The funeral was a small affair, with only those Haley personally selected from the circus being there watching the coffins lowered into the cold ground, but he also found himself struggling with how the caskets were closed, the bodies too mangled for such a young child to witness, the undertaker not being able to do anything. Even his uncle was left with scars which wouldn't fade, yet he'd held out hope, which was why Bruce hadn't made the call to remove the man from life support.

That, and there was the fact some might take Bruce doing so the wrong way – that he was trying to prevent anyone from arguing he was preventing the man from gaining custody of his ward. In fact, Robin majorly feared his uncle waking up, of regaining his consciousness only for the two of them to end up in some forsaken place, his uncle unable to have any form of a career with the way the fall debilitated him, but his pride making it so he wouldn't accept help from Bruce either.

"Of course, I don't go by that name anymore. You could say I'm a junior.

To say his stomach was upset was an understatement, but then another memory rose up, one which made his eyes snap open. One of someone falling to their death again, this time in a pit of lava, but being resurrected again, yet in the back of his mind – something told him the person in front of him wasn't the person he remembered from his childhood, which made him want to scream even more, but his mind was already doing this – as it couldn't be happening.

There were things – things in the back of his mind he definitely didn't want to remember – after all, something told him he'd run into this version of Slade Wilson, aka, Deathstroke before, despite having never run into the real Deathstroke, yet thinking of the deaths made his stomach churn painfully while he tried keeping his emotions inside of him, keeping his eyes closed.

He felt a finger touch his cheek, making him flinch, yet the words came out with a strong, defiant tone. "Don't touch me!"

"Come on Little Bird. You weren't bothered with me touching you before."

Robin let his eyes opened, so he might glare at the man in front of him, wishing with all his might that he might disappear, that the nightmare in front of him wasn't real. "I _don't_ want to be your apprentice. I don't _want_ to have anything to do with you."

The man reached out, making Robin flinch, his eyes closing as his teeth ground together. He, someone who wasn't frightened of Joker now found himself frightened of his own cousin, confused regarding why John – someone he looked up to and idolized as a child – would turn out this way, yet in the back of his mind he knew John had in fact gone insane.

"I don't want to hurt you."

"The John from my childhood – he definitely wouldn't hurt me." Robin opened his eyes. "You, on the other hand, you may..."

"Yadah, yadah, yadah." The man let out a sigh. "You're going to say something about same body, different mind, yet there is no getting around the fact that there is only one John Grayson."

"Then why take on someone else's name."

"Because that's what the apprentice does, doesn't he?"

"You're not making any sense, but then..." Robin snapped his mouth shut, not wanting to tell his cousin that he'd gone insane. He'd seen how losing one's insanity changed someone, made them do things they normally wouldn't do.

"Ah, yes, the you've gone insane line, right? I'm not insane."

"I've told you. I don't want to _be_ your apprentice. I don't _want_ to lose my identity."

"I've not lost my identity."

"Yes, yes you have."

"No – well, if you're going to make this argument, then haven't you lost your identity by becoming Batman's partner? How can you make that argument..."

"The John I knew would know. The John I knew would remember the..." Robin narrowed his eyes, watching the person carefully. "If you're really John."

The man tapped his head. "Oh. But aren't I going insane, so I might not remember things like the fact for the longest time only the Flying Grayson family could perform the quadruple summersault, but even now none have come to our level of frequency? Or are you thinking about the pet name Aunt Mary gave you, calling you Robin, Little Bird? I know you backward and forwards, Little Bird."

"I want nothing to do with you. Get that through your thick skull."

"Except you're lying. You came to me, willingly before." The voice continued rattling on, yet the thought he'd come willingly honestly frightened Robin. "Of course, you don't remember. Instinctively, you know you're mine."

"I belong to nobody."

"Except _the_ Batman. I don't like that. I don't like the fact he took you away from me."

"He didn't."

"Yes, yes he did."

"Seriously! You're supposed to be dead John!" Robin didn't like the circles in which the conversation was going, yet he knew he needed to keep Slade talking, but he hoped the man wouldn't turn violent.


	17. Teamwork

Those Aqualad selected for the mission gathered a short time after they agreed to move forward with the unofficial mission.

Cyborg and Raven from the Teen Titans remained close together, near the computer which Batman normally announced the missions he assigned for the team when he didn't personally show up. Raven's mentor hung out close by, waiting to produce whatever means which would allow them to track down Robin. Looking at them, his mind went over the context clues which indicated the Teen Titans forgot about their time together.

As for the members of the current team, Aqualad noticed Kid Flash and Superboy remained a few feet, looking warily at Raven and Cyborg. This made him wonder if they were still processing the news of a previous team existing, or if they were bothered with the way Miss Martian reacted earlier. In the back of his mind, Aqualad did find himself slightly worried, yet trusted things would resolve in some manner.

Wonder Girl, on the other hand, was a different kind of enigma from the Teen Titans. She wasn't previously associated with either team yet was mentored by one of the big three – the only other person mentored by one of the big three was Robin. Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman were the first three to arrive at the battle which would lead to the formation of the Justice League.

He took a deep breath, noticing that Red Tornado and Martian Manhunter hadn't yet shown up, making him suspect the adults were actually giving him and the team freedom to act, yet also allowing them to step in should the situation become one where the teens actually needed the help of adults. More importantly, they did, in fact, have one of the adult mentors lending them a helping hand in the matter.

"So, Zatanna, how does this work?"

One of Kid Flash's eyebrows shot up. "Wait. I thought you believed in magic, so why are you having to ask how this works?"

One of Aqualad's eyebrows shot up, remembering he'd said visions weren't uncommon in Atlantis, yet he'd definitely seen magic work. Somehow, Kid Flash's mind came to the conclusion regarding magic – that Zatanna would, in fact, be using magic and that Aqualad would know how all kinds of magic worked. "Different places have different kinds of magic."

"That's true." Zatanna looked Aqualad in the eye. "Are we sure that Robin is somewhere nearby."

"I don't think that this Slade person will have had time to get Robin far away, but there would have been an alert of any vehicle such as a rather large boat or plane leaving the area, yet there was none, which means if he is using a vehicle it would have been smaller. There's also the fact Kid Flash was rather quick in looking around the area for something going on. We do need to move fast, though, as with every minute he can make a move."

"Then let's move outside. If we actually end up needing vehicles to transport you after a vehicle of any kind, then we'll have Red Tornado arrange for said vehicles." Taking a deep breath, she held out a compass.

Kid Flash glared at her. "Hold it. That's a compass. It will help us find the direction of North, but that's about it."

Zatanna looked at him, the look on her face indicating she found herself quite amused at Kid Flash's reaction to her use of magic. "Not after I'm done with it."

"Sure." Kid Flash then let out a yelp when Superboy elbowed him in the ribs, something Aqualad was sure Robin would do if he were there, yet not with anywhere near the strength Superboy likely used, although he also suspected the level of strength used was also unintentional as Superboy was getting used to how strong he was, being that he was a clone of Superman. A few months of life experience didn't match to the years of experience Superman had in controlling his own strength.

"Etacol rof su eht eno dellac Edals." The needle on the compass continued rotating around, but not stopping, making her frown. "That's strange. We know this Slade person exists, right? So we should be able to locate him."

Kid Flash's eyes rolled into the back of his head. "Looks like it didn't work."

"There was only one other time that this didn't work."

"Perhaps because there is more than one Slade?"

The words came from Raven's mouth, almost as if – the look on her face, Aqualad noticed, seemed as if she knew something they didn't. Zatanna startled at what Raven said. "More than one? Well, that would explain why it didn't work both times, as there was a second person who shared the same name..." She took a deep breath. "Anyways, I don't have the time to try that theory out, so I'll try doing the spell on Robin instead."

Kid Flash rolled his eyes again, letting out a deep breath only for Superboy to push his shoulder making him yelp out, "hey", only for Superboy to shake his head.

"Etacol rof su ruo dneirf dna noinapmoc deman Ribon." This time around the spinning compass needle stopped spinning around, yet definitely turned in a direction different from that of North. One of Aqualad's eyebrows rose up. "That's the direction we need to go in?"

"That's the direction we need to go in."

Aqualad took a deep breath. "Okay team. We're going to follow Zatanna's lead but keep to the shadows as we move. I'd also like Raven to open up a communication link between the seven of us. We are going to work as a team."

Cyborg lifted his hand but didn't wait for Aqualad to call upon him. "Yeah. She might also be able to make a connection with Robin once she gets close."

"How?" Kid Flash. "She doesn't have Robin's permission, for starters, so he doesn't know it's coming, yet that's not something I've seen Megan do."

"No." Superboy seemed curious. "However, I don't think we should be worried about that. Is the needle moving at all?"

"No, which means they're not moving from wherever they are."

"Then let's get going. I'll leave whether Raven tries to make contact with Robin up to her." The team started moving forward, yet Raven floated looked at him, mentally telling him something privately through her telepathy.

" _While Cyborg is correct in the fact I could easily connect with Robin's mind if I got close..._ "

" _You don't want to?_ "

" _He reacted negatively when I did it this morning because I'd not taken into consideration the fact he didn't remember. He's one of the last people I want to intrude into the memory of, despite the fact..._ " Raven took a deep breath. " _I'd rather not go into the personal details._ "

She flew away, helping Aqualad relay messages to the rest of the team while Kid Flash purposefully made sarcastic remarks until they arrived at a warehouse. There was a group of people who were patrolling outside, yet the looks on Cyborg and Raven's faces. Then men were obviously armed but looked like they were mercenaries of some kind, which wasn't surprising given the fact Slade – AKA Deathstroke – was in fact a mercenary for hire.

" _I want the majority of the team to focus on taking out those mercenaries and not drawing attention to ourselves while Raven and Zatanna locate Robin._ "

" _But..._ "

" _No buts. Raven and Zatanna will let us know if they need any help regarding this matter._ "


	18. Face to Face

Silence was the response to what he said rather than violence, yet Robin felt as if he were eight again, his stomach churning, his body going into a definite panic mode. His legs and arms twitched against the bindings which tied him to the chair, yet he felt bile rise in his throat while he fought not throwing up the content of his stomach. He took a few deep breaths, though this did nothing to settle his nerves. Instead, he found himself becoming angrier and angrier.

The fact he felt angry at someone who was in fact family did nothing regarding the churning of his stomach, yet he gritted his teeth and did his best to glare at the man. Only, the reaction he got was obvious amusement. Robin took a few deep breaths, keeping up the Batglare as he looked at the person, not wanting to remember how John used to look at him the same way, or more of, his mind said amusement was the look under the mask, as a few of the body ticks matched the way John used to move.

A crackling sound was heard, making Slade let out a deep sigh. "Hold on a second." He lifted a walkie talkie up to his ear, then stood up, Slade's voice grating on Robin's nerves. "I really hate working alone. I am going to go out and see what's going on."

A shiver ran down Robin's spine. In the back of his mind, he wanted to believe his friends could handle themselves against someone like Slade, yet he'd heard quite a few nightmarish stories regarding Slade – the real Slade. His eyes closed, yet he hoped they could hold their own against him without anyone getting hurt, or worse, killed. He started engaging the place around him, taking in the fact he felt warm, the storage container having heated up.

His belt was also missing, the familiar weight not there.

Mentally, he cursed himself for not noticing sooner, for letting himself get distracted by the revelation regarding Slade. The man didn't remove his gloves, which meant he could use one of the tools kept hidden. Again, he cursed himself for not thinking of the small blade which could cut through the robes sooner. "Aster. I'd be a lot closer to helping everyone, but... _"_ He paused, a thought crossing his mind which definitely hurt. " _This is my fault. They're in trouble because he's after me._ "

Taking a deep breath, he continued filing away at the rope, when the door of the storage container opened. Robin's eyes blinked, sweat having started down his skin from the heat likely caused by the sun beating down on the container all day. A woman stepped into the room – a woman he couldn't see the face of. She moved closer, bending over so she might look him in the face.

"You're Robin, right?"

"Who..." Robin's eyes narrowed, her face seeming familiar, his mind jumping quickly to the time he spent with his family. He remembered following John and his girlfriend around, neither one annoyed with the presence of an eight-year-old, making him feel welcome. His eyes widened, his jaw dropped. "Wait."

"I'm..."

"Anna. You're Anna." The words he spoke were in Romani, which probably caught her off guard as much as hearing him say her name – the name he knew her by. Her eyes blinked, she pulled back as he continued speaking in Romani. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry for startling you. John, John Grayson..."

"Stop." She slowly got down on her level. "You shouldn't know that name. Not unless..."

" _I'm Dick Grayson._ " The words continued pouring out of his mouth, knowing she and she alone would understand him. "He's Slade. Slade is John."

Her eyes opened and closed. "Wait. Are you little bird?"

"I..." The realization hit hard. He slipped back into English. "I shouldn't have said that. Any of that. Batman..." He felt her hand against his cheek, his eyes closing at the coolness of her touch.

"Good grief. You're burning up." Her next words surprised him. "I thought you were dead."

"Why? Why did you..."

"They said there was only one survivor."

"Uncle Richard" He slipped back into Romani, mentally aching for a familiar if not sane connection with his family. "Uncle Richard is the one who survived the fall. I don't know why..." His eyes opened. "I don't know why..."

"So you weren't..." She let out a sigh of relief, continuing to speak Romani as well. "Let's get you out of here, baby bird." She paused, looking at him. "The name you chose..."

"I, yes." Robin swallowed. "Slade. I don't want him to hurt the others. It's my fault..."

"Stop. It's not your fault. Let me get these binds off you."

"I'm trying to cut..."

"Don't worry." Anna stood up. "And the name I go by is Zatanna."

"Wait." Robin's eyes blinked. "You're a league member. More specifically, you're the daughter of..."

"Yup." She stood up."Sepor, emoc esool."

Robin's eyes blinked, feeling the ropes loosen, then he said, "I togrof ruoy slleps evlovni gniyas sdrow sdrawkcab."

A laugh came from her mouth. "I togrof you desu ot kaeps sdrawkcab ta em nehw uoy erew regnuoy. I ma dalg uoy era evila."

Robin rubbed his arms, moving his legs slightly, taking a deep breath before standing up. He found himself unable to look her in the eye, knowing full well he'd blabbed his secret identity, breaking one of Batman's rules. Taking another deep breath, he smiled at her. "Well, I guess I'll just have to have Batman chew me out for that later."

"For what?"

"For..." Robin swallowed, still feeling guilty and still feeling like it was his fault despite the fact Zatanna said otherwise.

"She said something about how Batman won't like the fact you gave away your identity."

"Yes, well..." One of Robin's eyebrows shot up. "Wait? Who?"

"Raven."

"She must be the girl who tried warning...." Robin looked at the ground. "The fact it's Slade – it explains his interest in me. I mean, the fact he's Slade explains it."

"How is he alive?"

"He doesn't know."

"Yes, well..." Zatanna let out a sigh. "Raven would like permission to connect you with herself and everyone else."

"I'm not sure..."

"She can connect the conversation to specific individuals if you want, but she is worried about you."

Robin took a deep breath. "Okay. She can connect with my mind. I'm okay regarding that."

" _Robin_?"

" _Hi. You're the girl from this morning, aren't you._ "

" _Yes. I'm sorry for connecting with your mind._ "

" _I..._ " He felt far more comfortable with her connecting with her mind than Miss Martian as if that was a familiar presence, yet he shook his head. " _Slade is going after everyone. However, he hired contacted him._ "

" _That's..._ " Her voice paused in his head. " _I didn't lose connection with any of the others, but... I see him..._ "

Robin heard a slamming sound. Taking a deep breath, he headed out, Zatanna going with him.


	19. Cruel Fate

His worst fears...

What exactly were his worst fears?

Robin contemplated what his worst fears were when he heard the slamming sound, his mind first jumping to the idea of Slade slamming Kid Flash into the side of the shipping container Robin found himself kept in. Sweat dripped down his face still, the warmth from inside the shipping container likely getting the better of him as he sat there tied up. After all, Kid Flash didn't have the strength Aqualad, Superboy, or Miss Martian had, making him the one candidate to slam into the side.

Of course, the girl from the morning said she was the one who saw Slade, yet for some strange reason, he didn't think that she'd be the one getting slammed easily into the side of the shipping container. His mind felt woozy, indicating heat exhaustion was indeed kicking up – something which would result in him being bedridden the next few days if Batman and Agent A had their ways. Taking a deep breath, he stepped out.

Instead, the person he saw slammed against the side of the shipping container was in fact, Slade.

One hand darted up to his face despite the mask already covering his eyes. His stomach churned; he felt like throwing up while his mind fought back the memories which accosted his brain. He definitely wasn't thinking straight, given the fact he knew he shouldn't feel pity for a man like Slade, yet there was the sickening fact Slade was John, something his mind still struggled with reconciling with. A shudder ran down his spine.

" _Stop. Please stop._ "

" _He's trying to hurt you._ "

" _He's John._ "

" _Wait. He's your dead cousin?_ "

Of course, the girl shouldn't _know_ about his dead cousin yet she very much did know who his cousin was, causing him quite a lot of turmoil regarding the matter. His eyes focused in on Slade, unsure of how to respond to the man. The heat exhaustion – he definitely needed to admit this was setting in – definitely played around with his thought process. Mentally, he tried imagining John's face behind the mask, only for skeletal facial features to pop into his head.

He stepped backward at that moment, taken aback by the memory.

He felt Anna – Zatanna – place her hands on his shoulders, steadying him, his mind trying to make sense of the memory he didn't even realize he had, not to mention the fact there was a time when said memory for some strange reason didn't sicken him – not like it did now that he knew Slade – this version of Slade, was John. He felt panic set in, his mind racing to figure out what he should do.

Involuntarily, or perhaps quite voluntarily he stepped forward.

" _Robin. Don't._ "

"Don't what?" He watched Slade intently, watching the man let out a groan from where he slumped over. There was a definite dent where this girl shoved him into the shipping container, something Robin hadn't realized while he and Zatanna were inside. He continued stepping forward, but Slade looked up, almost as if watching him carefully.

" _I know you want to reason with him because he's your cousin, but he's not in his right mind._ "

"I still want to try." He glanced over his shoulder at Zatanna. "I want to try."

"I don't know. I don't think..."

He ignored her. In the back of his mind, he couldn't stand the idea of John dying yet again, yet in the back of his mind, he knew if he were guilty he should serve time. Problem was, what was this Slade's crimes and the crimes of the other Slade – that wasn't quite clear. He wondered as well if the actual Slade abandoned this Slade. "Hey."

"What do you want."

"To reason with you."

"Because of who I am."

"Because of who you are."

"Seriously..."

"And what's wrong with that?" Robin felt Slade was now patronizing him, which made him step closer. His hands clenched firmly at his sides, his mouth twisting in anger, knowing he simply wanted his cousin back instead of what his cousin became.

" _Robin, you're not exactly in your right mind right now either. In case you have noticed, you've overheated inside that shipping container, right._ "

Robin turned towards the strange girl, irritated she might interfere. "Look..."

Of course, this strange girl wasn't the only one with a worried look on her face. The other was, in fact, Zatanna, who held up her hands. "Robin, I need you to back..."

Her advice sort of fell on deaf ears or more of fell on ears which couldn't react to her suggestion of backing away due to her suggestion coming too late. He heard Slade move, realizing he'd made the mistake of turning his back on the man, allowing the man to move forward and place him into a headlock. Robin's breath sucked in deep, his eyes closing.

He felt afraid.

Rarely did he ever feel afraid, which –

He'd likely contemplated this before, the fact he'd gone up the likes of Penguin and Joker and not ever felt as afraid as he did now. He took a deep breath, wishing he wasn't feeling torn either between his own safety and the safety of the man who – Robin's instinct told him – likely did some very bad things.

Another memory slipped into his mind unbidden, of the man grabbing him by the back of his hair, treating him unkindly, in a way that John never would. Robin's eyes clenched shut, his mind screaming out that he didn't want any of this – that he simply wanted John back, that his John would never do those things, yet his body trembled, realizing he was now afraid of someone he'd never expected to be afraid of.

" _Is this even a relationship we can repair, given what he's done in the past. Why the hell do I still want this? Why am I...._ " Robin's eyes opened, realizing he was going to _that_ dark place he went whenever the anniversary of his parent's death came up, a place he always hated going because it always negatively affected his ability to react to situations. His hands touched the man's arm lightly. " _Someone. Help me. Help me, please. Keep me from sinking into the darkness and becoming like Batman._ "


	20. Connections

Sometimes Raven cursed her gift of empathy.

Today was one of those days.

She definitely felt the feeling of despair wafting over Robin, a feeling she'd sensed before from the other teen – although at the time they were preteens. In the past, she'd sit and talk to him about how he felt, and she left him to vent all of his frustrations. Looking back at the way he put on a rather large grin, let alone put on an attitude of goofing off – something told her he'd come up with different methods of coping with the darkness which welled up in him, yet she – who was currently a stranger, couldn't offer up words of encouragement.

She was right about her mentor actually knowing Robin, which wasn't surprising given the fact they were both from lives that could have easily crossed paths. Stage magicians, as was Zatanna and her father's day time gigs which paid for the actual bills, did perform in circuses, yet she'd definitely seen memories of the Grayson family, something she'd only picked up off of one other person – Robin, who was now falling into the pit of despair he usually did when he thought about his broken family.

She'd never picked up on those memories from Slade, but then Slade was definitely a jumbled mess. How she picked up on the name John – that he was John Grayson, she didn't know, as she didn't feel Robin would have communicated such a thing to her, not when he considered her such a stranger. Looking at Slade, how he held Robin, not really caring about the boy's safety – this wasn't the John she knew from Robin's memories.

In fact, she wondered if he actually remembered any of the things Robin did about their time growing up.

" _Raven._ "

Zatanna's voice echoed through her head, yet the realization of where she'd heard the name used – who had used it utilizing her ability to mentally communicate. She turned, looking at her mentor. " _Why did you tell me who Slade is?_ "

" _Don't you know Robin. That's why you said I likely knew him earlier, but you knew it might do him some good having someone from his past in his life._ "

" _Yeah, well, not like this. Not..._ " She heard a gust of wind and saw Kid Flash hurry over. The young speedster's facial features twisted in worry, seeing Robin like that, clutched in a headlock by Slade in what could only be described as a very threatening manner. Yet, she also picked up on the fact Kid Flash was freaking out regarding the way Robin acted; Robin, after all, was fearless.

"What the..." Kid Flash pointed at Slade. "Put him down!"

"No. He's coming..."

" _Raven. Connect me to Slade's mind!_ "

Raven heard her mentor, her eyes blinking in confusion. Thinking back, there was another likely reason why Slade was never someone she could read, which in turn frightened her slightly, but _feeling_ meant her powers might go haywire in an unexpected manner. In fact, she felt her shadows flicker with the slight rise of her emotions while she thought about how Slade often used Robin's.

" _Raven. Connect me to his mind now, before he takes off with Robin!_ "

" _Yes._ " Raven hated introducing upon Slade's mind, even felt nasty doing so. She winced, feeling the darkness in the man's mind, meaning _this_ wasn't a robot for once, yet also feeling how broken it was. In the back of her mind, she wondered if she instinctively didn't venture into his mind for that reason, yet she remained connected to Robin, making the three-way conversation now four-way, leaving Kid Flash out of the loop.

Of course,e Slade reacted to her intrusion. "What the hell! Get out of my head, you witch."

" _Oh. Are you going to play up to the stereotype that Roma are all superstitious then?_ "

" _Raven!_ " Zatanna sent her a look, before turning her attention back to Slade. " _John..._ "

"Get out of my head!"

Kid Flash swallowed. "Look, going into someone's mind..."

"I asked her, but I have my reasons." Zatanna piped up, her eyes narrowed, stepping forward. " _John, I want you to listen to me._ "

"Get away! Get away from me!"

"Guys, I think you're making the situation worse – much worse." Kid Flash hurried over, tugging on Raven's cape, much to her annoyance.

" _He's annoying me Zatanna, so do something._ "

"He's right. You're making the situation worse."

" _Oh, so you recognize who Robin is, but not me?_ " The look on Zatanna's face – Raven remembered being on the wrong side of that glare, one which could easily compare to one of Batman's. Her mentor didn't put up with any nonsense, though Raven rarely if ever did. She did receive a lecture about relying on others when she needed help when she first got there, which related to the incident with her father. Of course, Robin gave her a similar lecture.

"Recognize you..." Slade faltered, looking at her, yet Raven couldn't read his facial expression. She could sense recognition kicking in. " _Anna._ "

" _Yes, I'm Anna, but I never thought I'd ever be this disappointed in you, John._ "

Raven glanced over at Kid Flash, feeling he might be right about Zatanna making things worse, but the look on his face. "Oh great. You actually agree with me that she's making it worse."

"I did not."

"You gave me..."

"Shut up you two."

"Woah, this can _not_ be a good situation." Yet another person intruded upon the scene, making Raven realize that the others likely finished with Slade's goons and were showing up. This girl – Wonder Girl, Raven couldn't place how she felt about the girl's presence, but from what she sensed, nobody including the leader of Robin's current team could figure out how they felt regarding the outsider.

" _Disappointed in me. As if that even matters._ "

" _I guess I should just give the ring back._ "

Raven facepalmed. "Okay. I don't think it's time to be discussing _that_ of all things." Particularly since hearing those words made her _feel_ emotion, which in turn affected her powers.

" _OR maybe I should give the ring to Robin so he can use it. It's what I would have done if I'd known before now that he was alive, given the fact I was under the impression you were dead. After all, isn't it a family heirloom?_ "

"Guys. I agree with Raven. Plus, that's a rather – embarrassing subject us _kids_ don't want to hear."

She wanted to laugh. She wanted to laugh at the fact Robin was squirming at the conversation. She wanted to feel glad he was starting to come out of his dark funk because of the conversation unfolding in front of him, yet she knew he was still majorly stressed given the entire situation.

" _Here's the real point. Don't you think your actions make you a disappointment to little bird here?_ "

"What does that matter?" Slade, of course, didn't want to use the communication link Raven set up.

"Okay. I'm guessing there is some kind of mental connection going on – a rather bizarre one?" Wonder Girl folded her arms. "Which means we can't predict what is going to happen, right?"

" _That's the last thing we need. Why are you forming a separate mental connection?_ " Aqualad piped up in her head.

" _She's what?_ "

" _Do you guys really want Robin's identity given away!_ "

Wonder Girl shrugged her shoulders. "Well, that makes sense."

"You're strong, like Wonder Woman."

Wonder Girl looked at Kid Flash, glaring. "Look, I'm going to see how this plays out before jumping into the mess, alright? I suggest you do as well."

" _I'm in agreement with her, but Superboy, Cyborg, and I will be there as soon as possible and I'll take in the situation personally_."

Raven sighed, sending a message to Zatanna privately. " _You might want to hurry up. The others are getting antsy._ "

" _Well, John. Are you telling me I'm wrong for believing you never wanted to be a disappointment to him?_ "

"Batman took him away."

"What..." Of course, Aqualad's group wasn't _that_ far away, making Raven mentally curse, or perhaps he was able to get their faster, given the way the ground was smashed from where he landed. "What is he talking about?"

"Wait?" Kid Flash pointed at the man. "He _knows_ Robin's secret identity? Batman's going to kill..."

"No, he's not."

"Well, not figuratively as he's got the no-kill policy, but..."

"KF. Stop." Robin narrowed his eyes. " _KF knows my identity, whoever you are, so let him in on the conversation._ "

" _Oh._ " Raven sent another private message. " _Robin says you know his secret identity, which means you would actually be aware of who Slade is._ "

"What?" Kid Flash gave her a rather dirty look.

" _This Slade is the apprentice of the other Slade, but the person he really is, he's actually John Grayson._ "

" _His father or his cousin?_ "

" _His cousin._ "

"Oh, god. That explains a lot."

"I'm not following." Superboy looked over at Kid Flash, his confusion growing.

"But what does..."

" _Apparently Zatanna was John Grayson's fiancé._ " She found Kid Flash facepalming himself very amusing.

" _Well, I'm..._ "

"Another is in on this conversation?"

" _Yeah, well I know Robin's identity and Dick Grayson – he's my best friend, so I'm going to tell you that you don't have his best interests in mind, wanting him to become some kind of apprentice to an assassin like you, but you're so not talking – no, acting like the John Grayson he's always told me about, the John Grayson he's proud of. So, you've got the choice today of either being the person he wants you to be, or being his worst nightmare._ "

"Thank you," Robin said. "Please, listen to what KF said. This isn't you, but you need help. More specifically..." He switched to the mental connection. " _Anna and I want you in our lives, just not the way you are. And, I'm scared of who you've become. I'm afraid of you, something I never wanted to be. So please..."_

Slowly, Slade started letting go, which was when Wonder Girl reacted. She moved quickly, jumping down so she was right in front of Slade, taking advantage of the fact Slade let go of Robin, pulling him away before – well, she punched him in the face knocking him out cold. Raven watched Zatanna, Kid Flash, and Robin look on in disbelief while Cyborg and Aqualad showed up.

"Woah. Did you just take out Slade? Robin – he is okay."

"Why did..."

"Look, I don't know what kind of conversation you guys were having privately, but this resolved the current situation and you're safe. Goodness knows my mentor would have had a field day if I'd not stepped in, but if we kept at this too long the other adults might have gotten involved.


	21. The Whelmed Feeling

"How do you feel?"

"Whelmed, honestly whelmed?" Robin found himself retreating to his room at Mount Justice until Batman came to retrieve him. He found himself wanting Zatanna – and the girl they called Raven for that matter, in the room with him and Kid Flash, yet Zatanna was keeping the others away while he destressed and Raven – she wanted to give him space given the fact they were currently strangers, given the fact he still didn't recollect anything about her. "It will be a while."

"I can imagine." Kid Flash flopped onto the bed next to him. "I can't believe it was my words that convinced him to – well, start letting you go, 'cause Wonder Girl didn't need to do what she did."

"No. Your words might have been convincing him, but when someone is mentally unstable, the smallest thing could easily trigger them. It's really weird knowing I was the leader of a team prior to this one, but I feel even more relieved I'm not the leader. I wish Cyborg wouldn't..." Robin frowned, honestly wishing Cyborg didn't insist he be the leader. His mouth pushed together. "I respect Aqualad, but he's letting me be a kid. I don't think I got that with the Teen Titans."

"And that girl – she keeps saying she dated you, but it's pissing off her girlfriend majorly."

"Um, yeah. That rather surprised me. I wouldn't imagine she'd be my type. She feels – more of the type people would expect Bruce Wayne to like, if you know what I mean, and I don't want that playboy image. I'm not sure who I want to date. It's not something I've really focused on."

"Well, I know I want to date Miss Martian. Although..." Kid Flash paused. "It was a bit weird. She tried intruding upon that girl Starfire's mind, but Raven actually stopped her, but I don't think she likes Raven or Wonder Girl."

"Does that make you hate Raven?"

"Does that bother you?" Kid Flash let out a sigh. "No. It does bother you. You did say connecting to her mentally was different than Miss Martian, right? Like, soul mates?"

"Not in the way you're thinking." Robin let out a sigh, sitting up, feeling slightly calmer than before. "Definitely not romantic. More – familial. I can't explain it, but I think I'm going to go for a walk."

"Are you sure? That Starfire chick..."

"I'll be fine. I'm sure I can think of something." Robin gave his best friend a smile despite the fact he still felt as whelmed as he did. He slipped from his room, deciding to try and observe the others, but for some reason, a thought popped into his head. " _Raven?_ "

" _Wait. Did you link up with me purposefully? I thought..._ "

" _It feels comfortable. I can't explain it, but it's helping me feel less whelmed._ _Can I ask a few questions? Also, what are you doing?_ "

" _Looking for Miss Martian?_ "

Robin swallowed. " _Are you sure? Wally – Kid Flash says she doesn't like you, he thinks._ "

" _That's because I saw something she didn't want me to see._ "

" _You mean that secret she's keeping from all of us?_ "

" _Oh, so you are aware of it even though you don't know what it is?_ "

" _Well, she's a Martian, so the only thing drastic I can think of is that she's a White Martian, but Martian Manhunter told me that the issue with the white Martians is kind of like racism based on one's skin color, but to me, that's not a big deal. I mean, I'm half Romani, so I can kind of relate to being ostracized – from both sides actually._ "

" _Too bad you can't tell her that. Would you help me find her? There's something I need to tell her about myself that might fix things._ "

" _I'm all for fixing things._ "

" _I figured. That's like you._ "

He managed to find Raven, then find Miss Martian. Miss Martian – she didn't seem in a good mood, but she glared at Raven. "Seriously, can't you tell I'm avoiding you. And trying to find Superboy."

"Wait? Superboy's avoiding you?" Robin felt perturbed by the fact Superboy was avoiding MissMaritan.

"She thinks she did something to make him angry, but he's simply frustrated that you keep pushing the issue with him. Give him some space."

"You..." Miss Martian glared at Raven. "You intruded upon my mind."

"You tried intruding upon someone else's first, but..." Raven looked her in the eye. "I won't tell anyone what your worst fear is, but I..."

"I don't want to be friends."

"Hey. That's..." Robin didn't understand why Miss Martian reacted the way she did. It wasn't in character for her, but Raven's intrusion – albeit of necessity and unintentional – did have its effect. He hoped it might make her stop and think about her powers, remembering how she freely intruded upon his mind when the team first came together.

"At least let me finish saying I'm wanting to tell you something about myself."

"Fine."

"I'm only half-human. My father is – well, he's what people on Earth call a demon, but he tried destroying this world a year ago. That's when all of the Teen Titans but myself lost their memories, though Cyborg now has his back."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Well, for starters, the person who helped me through that was Robin, but I'd not told anybody about my father because – well, I don't like talking about him for good reason. I also felt it was only fair, given – well, you know."

Robin watched Miss Martian's facial features twist slightly. She then tried smiling at Raven. "Okay. Thanks. I feel a little better."

"I'm glad."

"So..." Robin took a deep breath. "What's next on the list to do – my list to do this time?"

"You mean observing the new team dynamics so you can figure out how to interact with everybody without stepping into it?"

"Yeah, that."

"Are you two twins?"

One of Robin's eyebrows lifted up, interested in the fact Miss Martian came to such a conclusion. "Um, no."

"He would have to be a half-demon for that to be true, which he is not."

"Oh. That makes sense, I guess."

Robin took a deep breath and headed to the main area, watching everyone from a distance. Starfire was definitely driving Wonder Girl up the wall, but – the Amazon he assumed was Starfire's girlfriend glared at him, meaning he wasn't as hidden and unnoticed as he would have liked. A chill went down his spine at what could be best described as an Amazon death glare, one he felt was definitely meant. He wanted to tell her he didn't want anything to do with Starfire, but that...

" _Would mean telling her that you find Starfire's infatuation with the fact you two used to date..._ "

" _Wait. We actually did date?_ " Robin looked at Raven. He didn't like the amused look on her face.

" _You're thinking why, but I asked myself the same thing. Except, it had to do with the fact – well, she doesn't always dress in such skimpy clothing, and she was naïve regarding Earth customs – kind of still is. She's a very nice person when you get to know her, so I'd argue it had to do with her personality and how bubbly-bubbly she is and not because she's super-duper hot. Of course, she also balanced out your darkness, although – you never told her your real identity and she's not aware of that darkness._ "

" _I see._ " His eyes drifted over to where Beast Boy and Cyborg were playing the gaming console – on the floor because the two Amazon girls were still tied on the couch. Superboy seemed a bit peeved off with the fact he couldn't use the television or was it the fact he wasn't getting to join in.

" _It's definitely a feeling of being left out._ "

"Robin."

Robin turned, looking up at Aqualad. He glanced back over where Cyborg was and saw Cyborg glare, He turned to Aqualad. "I'm feeling better, so don't worry about me so much. I do appreciate it." He turned his head to look at Cyborg. "I think – I think I need to make sure he doesn't – well, he should respect the fact you're the leader."

"You don't have to."

"Yes, I do." Robin tilted his head, hoping Cyborg would take the hint that he wanted him to follow him and Raven into the other room. The stood there and Robin's eyes focused on the ground.

"You wanted to talk to me?"

"I don't like the fact you're disrespectful of Aqualad, but I've seen it in the way you look at him."

"You should be the leader."

"I'm the one who decided Aqualad should be the leader." Robin watched Cyborg's facial expression change. "And I don't want to be the leader."

"You don't want to be the leader?"

"Yes, well..."

"What happened?"

"Robin still doesn't remember the Teen Titans."

Cyborg let out a sigh. "Neither do Starfire and Beast Boy."

" _He knows your secret identity if that helps._ "

"Raven says you know who I really am?"

"Not that hard to figure out. I mean – well, I'm smart. May not always act it, particularly when I goof off with Beast Boy."

Robin took a deep breath, his hands clenching together. "I don't have any confidence in my leadership abilities, but – honestly, when the team first started I think the only one who would listen to me was Aqualad, not to mention he was the only one who actually got – well, as he said, the way Batman and I operate wasn't a way everyone else was used to operate with, but that I should give it time."

"They don't respect you?"

"Not so much that, so much as I'm younger than all of them. Well, unless you count the fact Superboy's a clone. No, it's not just that I'm younger. It's complicated."

"I think the Trigon incident had a negative effect on him despite the fact he doesn't remember but don't you dare forget you got into it a few times regarding his leadership decisions and you're older than him. The only one of us older than him and not younger of the same age other than yourself is Starfire, and she – well, she's the way she is. Plus, Robin looks up to Aqualad like we all looked up to him, but the others – they don't look up to him."

"More importantly, I trust Aqualad, but I don't have to deal with Batman when missions go wrong."

"Ah." Cyborg glanced away. "I guess I can give him the benefit of the doubt."

The sound system announced Batman entering the cave. Robin glanced up. "Ah. I'd better go see him."

"You going to be okay."

"Well – as I told KF – who does actually know my secret identity like you two do – it will be a bit until I'm okay, given who Slade is. Raven can fill you in, but I need to talk to Batman." Robin gave Cyborg a smile, before turning and heading over to Batman. He looked up at his mentor.

"You – you're not laughing before you appear."

"I'm kind of not in the mood right now."

"I can't blame you, given..."

"You knew, didn't you? Who he was?"

"Would that change anything?"

"You could have..." Robin's mouth twisted, his fists tightening.

"First, I didn't know he'd know to look for you here, so I thought you'd be safer with the team. Second – yes, I did know who he was, but given the fact, you didn't remember who this Slade was and the fact I only knew he was after you because of your meticulous records..." Batman stopped speaking. "What's important is he's getting the proper treatment, but Zatanna, she is with him right now. When he's ready, when you're both ready, I'll make sure you can see him."

"Promise."

"I promise, and I promise to do everything I can so he's okay."

"Even if that means you lose me."

"I also promise to fight for you to stay if you want, but if you don't..."

"Maybe..." In truth, he wanted John to stay at the manor with them, though in the long run, he didn't know what the future would hold.


End file.
